Learn The BasicsThe prognosis of bladder cancer is usually quite good, especially if the cancer is caught early.
Overall, the five-year survival rate of bladder cancer is 78%, meaning that 78% of patients are still alive after five years from the time they are diagnosed.
The five-year survival rate can be as high as 96% if the cancer has not invaded the muscle layer beneath.
There are several factors that affect the prognosis of bladder cancer. These include the stage and grade of the cancer, the type of bladder cancer and the age and overall health of the patient.
Prognosis by stage and grade
According to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, the five-year relative survival rate for localized bladder cancer, or in cases in which the cancer has not spread outside the bladder, is 72%.
The five-year survival rate of regional bladder cancer, or cancer that has spread from the bladder to nearby structures or lymph nodes, is 40%. If bladder cancer has spread to distant parts of the body like the lungs, liver or bones, it drops to 9%.
Prognosis by type
The most common type of bladder cancer is urothelial carcinoma, which starts in the urothelial cells lining the inside of the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract, like the renal pelvis—the part of the kidney that connects to the ureter, the ureter and the urethra. Patients with bladder cancer may also have tumors in these locations.
However, there are other types of bladder cancer, such as squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder, adenocarcinoma of the bladder and small cell carcinoma of the bladder, for which prognosis is usually worse.
The five-year survival rate of non-urothelial bladder cancers is around 33 to 48%, with most patients dying within three years of diagnosis.
The five-year survival rate of patients with bladder adenocarcinoma is reported to be 36.1%.
For small cell carcinoma of the bladder, five-year survival rates vary from 10 to 40%.
Prognosis by age
Usually, advanced age negatively affects the prognosis of bladder cancer, with older patients having worse overall survival than younger patients.
Research has shown that the lowest survival rate is seen among patients diagnosed with bladder cancer after age 75.
On the other hand, the five-year survival rate is almost 90% in patients diagnosed with bladder cancer between the ages of 15 to 39. It is 82.2% for those diagnosed in their forties and sixties.