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Epidemiology of Bladder Cancer IN THE UNITED STATES

Estimates for 2025

84,870 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed.1

Bladder cancer is the 9th most common cancer.2

Ancient man turned to the side
5TH MOST COMMON CANCER IN MALES (an estimated 65,080 new cases in 2025)1
Ancient woman turned to the side
15TH MOST COMMON CANCER IN FEMALES (an estimated 19,790 new cases in 2025)1

Bladder cancer is more prevalent in older adults, and it is projected that the population ages 65 years and over will increase by 40% in the next 20 years.2-4

FOR OVER 3 DECADES, BLADDER CANCER–RELATED MORTALITY HAS REMAINED RELATIVELY STAGNANT2

Age-adjusted death rates have been falling on average 0.9% each year over 2013-2022.2

The median age at diagnosis is 73.2

New cases and deaths for bladder cancer 1992 to 2022
17,420 deaths estimated in 20251
Ancient ornament
10th leading cause
of death from cancer1

The Development and Progression of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer typically develops in the urothelium and can spread to the bladder muscle, eventually leading to metastasis.5-7*

Chart showing typical development and progression of bladder cancer
NMIBC
~75% of newly detected cases8
  • Exophytic papillary tumors are confined largely to the mucosa (Ta) (70%-75%) or, less often, to the lamina propria (T1) (20%-25%) or flat high-grade lesions (Tis or CIS [carcinoma in situ]) (5%-10%)8
  • CIS is a flat non-papillary cancer confined to the urothelium. It is a high-grade form of NMIBC, which can lead to MIBC and spread to mUC1,8
    • Enhanced cystoscopy techniques (eg, blue-light cystoscopy) can help improve detection and assist in resection, thereby helping to reduce residual tumor9
    • CIS may be difficult to resect using transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) due to its diffuse nature10
MIBC
~20% of newly detected cases11
  • In MIBC, tumors have invaded the bladder muscle with or without lymph node involvement1
Advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC)
~5% of newly detected cases5
  • Locally advanced tumors may have spread to nearby organs1
  • mUC includes tumors that have disseminated to the bone and/or distant organs, such as the lungs or liver1
References:

  1. Bladder cancer. American Cancer Society. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/bladder-cancer.html

  2. Cancer stat facts: bladder cancer. National Cancer Institute: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/urinb.html

  3. US Census Bureau. Demographic turning points for the United States: population projections for 2020 to 2060. Accessed February 12, 2025. Available at: https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.pdf

  4. Weir HK, Thompson TD, Stewart SL, White MC. Cancer incidence projections in the United States between 2015 and 2050. Prev Chronic Dis. 2021;18:E59. Published June 10, 2021. doi:10.5888/pcd18.210006

  5. Saginala K, Barsouk A, Aluru JS, Rawla P, Padala SA, Barsouk A. Epidemiology of bladder cancer. Med Sci (Basel). 2020;8(1):15. doi:10.3390/medsci8010015

  6. Kanmalar M, Abdul Sani SF, Kamri NINB, et al. Raman spectroscopy biochemical characterisation of bladder cancer cisplatin resistance regulated by FDFT1: a review. Cell Mol Biol Lett. 2022;27(1):9. doi:10.1186/s11658-022-00307-x

  7. Batista R, Vinagre N, Meireles S, et al. Biomarkers for bladder cancer diagnosis and surveillance: a comprehensive review. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020;10(1):39. doi:10.3390/diagnostics10010039

  8. Referenced with permission from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Bladder Cancer V7.2024.© National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc. 2025. All rights reserved. Accessed March 10, 2025. To view the most recent and complete version of the guideline, go online to NCCN.org.

  9. Elferink PO, Witjes JA. Blue-light cystoscopy in the evaluation of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Ther Adv Urol. 2014;6(1):25-33. doi:10.1177/1756287213510590

  10. Kim LHC, Patel MI. Transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT). Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(6):3056-3072. doi:10.21037/tau.2019.09.38

  11. Patel VG, Oh WK, Galsky MD. Treatment of muscle-invasive and advanced bladder cancer in 2020. CA Cancer J Clin. 2020;70(5):404-423. doi:10:3322/caac.21631

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