BLADDER, KIDNEY, AND PANCREATIC CANCER

Bladder Cancerà The bladder is the storage sac for urine and subsequently, bladder cancer is usually identified by blood in the urine.  Further tests are done to determine the amount and type of tumors present in the bladder.  There are many treatments for the cancer with the most invasive being the removal of the bladder.  If this is necessary, a section of the bowel is used in reconstructive surgery to create a holding area for urine.  Cigarette smoking increases the risk of bladder cancer⁴⁵.  One study performed in the Netherlands was about the correlation of specific risks and bladder cancer.  In 1986, the participants filled out a survey regarding their cancer risks.  In 1992, there were links made to the cancer registry.  The study found that “current cigarette smokers have a three-fold higher bladder cancer risk than non-smokers”⁵⁰.  The study also found that ex-smokers experience a two-fold increased risk and, that 1/5 of all female bladder cancer was attributable to cigarette smoking⁵⁰.  Cigarette smoking is the strongest risk factor for developing bladder cancer, but, unlike lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases, smoking cessation does not precipitously reduce the risks⁵⁰.   

Kidney Cancerà The kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood in the body to remove waste products that help make up the urine.  Renal Cell Cancer (RCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer.  Kidney cancer is usually not noticed in its early stages.  However, as the tumor on the kidney grows, blood in the urine may appear³³.   The urine may be visibly detected or could be detected in a urinalysis, a routine medical test at an annual physical.  More tests need to be run in order to determine the stage and type of cancer so that an appropriate treatment may be determined.  Treatments range from radiation to actual removal of the whole kidney.  If only one kidney must be removed a person may continue to have normal function³¹.  A review paper is cited as saying that smoking seems to be a risk factor.  Dr. Christopher Wood of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center states that among the risk factors believed to be associated with the disease are environmental carcinogens such as tobacco smoke⁴⁶. He also wrote that researchers with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) report that smokers are twice as likely to develop kidney cancer as non-smokers. The longer a person smokes, the greater the risk of developing kidney cancer ⁴⁶. 

Pancreatic Cancerà The pancreas is responsible for producing hormones such as insulin³³.  Pain in the upper abdomen and yellowish eyes and skin are a few of the symptoms of pancreatic cancer.  The treatment options are radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery.  If surgery is the choice of treatment a special diet will be needed, additional hormones may also need to be part of a patients’ diet.  Pancreatic cancer is the forth most common cancer is the United States²⁷.  Smoking cigarettes doubles the risk of developing pancreatic cancer²⁷. 

There is also a genetic predisposition, specifically a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, which 5 to 10 percent of patients possess¹⁸.  This study reported on the addition of smoking to the mutated BRCA2 gene.  The study established a registry with 497 patients with hereditary pancreatitus.  Of the 19 patients with pancreatic cancer, 11 were current or former smokers, 6 were nonsmokers, and the data was absent for two of the patients.  It was determined that as in the general population of the U.S., smoking resulted in approximately a twofold increased risk for pancreatic cancer¹⁸.  An additional finding was that smokers tended to develop the cancer 20 years earlier than nonsmokers²⁷.  Pancreatic cancer is a difficult cancer to treat and therefore has been studied for possible lifestyle factors that may allow for a higher risk of the cancer.  Smoking was found to be the only concrete factor that can be altered in order to lower one’s risk of pancreatic cancer.