Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Transitional cell carcinoma
Summary
Transitional cell carcinoma, also called urothelial carcinoma, is a type of cancer that typically occurs in the urinary system. It is the most common type of bladder cancer and cancer of the ureter, urethra, and urachus. It accounts for 95% of bladder cancer cases.
It is the second most common type of kidney cancer, but accounts for only five to 10 percent of all primary renal malignant tumors.
Transitional cell carcinomas arise from the transitional epithelium, a tissue lining the inner surface of these hollow organs.
When the term "urothelial" is used, it specifically refers to a carcinoma of the urothelium, meaning a transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary system.
Signs and symptoms of transitional cell carcinomas depend on the location and extent of the cancer.
Urothelial carcinoma is a prototypical example of a malignancy arising from environmental carcinogenic influences. By far the most important cause is cigarette smoking, which contributes to approximately one-half of the disease burden. Chemical exposure, such as those sustained by workers in the petroleum industry, the manufacture of paints and pigments (e.g., aniline dyes), and agrochemicals are known to predispose one to urothelial cancer. The risk is lowered by increased liquid consumption, presumably as a consequence of increased urine production and thus less dwell time on the urothelial surface. Conversely, risk is increased among long-haul truck drivers and others in whom long urine dwell-times are encountered. As with most epithelial cancers, physical irritation has been associated with increased risk of malignant transformation of the urothelium. Thus, urothelial carcinomas are more common in the context of chronic urinary stone disease, chronic catheterization (as in patients with paraplegia or multiple sclerosis), and chronic infections. Some particular examples are listed below:
Certain drugs, such as cyclophosphamide, via the metabolites acrolein and phenacetin, may predispose to the development of transitional cell carcinomas (the latter especially with respect to the upper urinary tract).
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.