Bladder cancer is the 5th most common cancer in Canada, 4th most common among men and 12th most common among women. An estimated 9,000 Canadians are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year.

Because of a 60-70% recurrence rate, bladder cancer is the most expensive cancer to treat on a per-patient basis. Yet, at 20th out of the 24 most common cancers, research funding into this disease lags almost all other cancers.

Smoking is a common risk factor, as is age and occupational exposure to specific chemicals.

The most common symptom is blood in the urine (hematuria), occurring in more than 80% of bladder cancer cases. Other symptoms may include bladder spasms and increased frequency and urgency of urination.

The majority of patients are diagnosed with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (the cancer has not grown into the muscle surrounding the bladder), which can progress to muscle-invasive in some cases. Nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer is commonly treated with surgery to remove tumors from the inside of the bladder and the insertion of drugs into the bladder.

Twenty-five percent of people are diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Mortality rate is 40% in first five years for muscle-invasive disease. Muscle-invasive cases are most often treated by removing the bladder (radical cystectomy). Nearby organs, including the prostate for men and the uterus and ovaries for women, are also removed and the there are several different ways the function of the bladder can be replaced.