Ureteral cancer

Ureteral cancer is cancer of the ureters, muscular tubes that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. It is also known as ureter cancer,[1] renal pelvic cancer,[1] and rarely ureteric cancer or uretal cancer. Cancer in this location is rare.[1][2]

This article is about cancer of the ureter. For cancer of the urethra, see Urethral cancer. For cancer of the uterus, see Uterine cancer.

Ureteral cancer
A cystoscope showing a tumor in the ureters. Here it threatens to completely cut off flow to the ureters.
SpecialtyOncology Urology
SymptomsBlood in the urine

Ureteral cancer is usually transitional cell carcinoma.[2][3] Transitional cell carcinoma is "a common cause of ureter cancer and other urinary (renal pelvic) tract cancers."[1]

Symptoms

Symptoms of ureteral cancer may include "blood in the urine (hematuria); diminished urine stream and straining to void (caused by urethral stricture); frequent urination and increased nighttime urination (nocturia); hardening of tissue in the perineum, labia, or penis; itching; incontinence; pain during or after sexual intercourse (dyspareunia); painful urination (dysuria); recurrent urinary tract infection; urethral discharge and swelling".[4]

Risk factors

Tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of ureteral cancer.[5]

Diagnosis
Example of an IVU radiograph

Diagnosis may include a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test, computed tomography urography (CTU), magnetic resonance urography (MRU), intravenous pyelography (IVP) x-ray, ureteroscopy,[6] or biopsy.

Treatment

Treatment methods include surgery,[1][7] chemotherapy,[1] radiation therapy[1] and medication.[1]

Epidemiology

Between 1988 and 2001 in the United States, cancer surveillance reports to SEER included 1,333 cases of ureteral cancer in adults: 808 male and 525 female, 1,158 white and 42 black. Of the total, 1,251 (94%) were transitional cell carcinoma of the papillary type.[2] "Five-year relative survival rates from cancers of the ureter were similar among males vs. females..."[2]

See also
  • Ureteral neoplasm, a type of tumor that can be primary, or associated with a metastasis from another site
  • Urethral cancer, cancer of the urethra
  • Urothelium, the tissue layer that lines much of the urinary tract, including the renal pelvis, the ureters, the bladder, and parts of the urethra

References
  1. Ureter Cancer, Mayo Clinic
  2. Ries, LAG; Young, JL; Keel, GE; Eisner, MP; Lin, YD; Horner, M-J, eds. (2007), "Chapter 30: Cancers of Rare Sites", SEER Survival Monograph: Cancer Survival Among Adults: US SEER Program, 1988-2001, Patient and Tumor Characteristics, SEER Program, NIH Pub. No. 07-6215, Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute, pp. 251–262, archived from the original on 10 October 2013, retrieved 18 October 2013
  3. Transitional Cell Cancer (Kidney/Ureter), National Cancer Institute
  4. Urethral Cancer, Department of Urology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
  5. McCredie M, Stewart JH, Ford JM (July 1983). "Analgesics and tobacco as risk factors for cancer of the ureter and renal pelvis". J. Urol. 130 (1): 28–30. doi:10.1016/s0022-5347(17)50936-2. PMID 6864908.
  6. Ureter Cancer Diagnosis, Mayo Clinic
  7. Ureteral Cancer, Fox Chase Cancer Center
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