Urologic cancers include cancer of the kidney, bladder, renal pelvis, penis, testicles, and urethra. Cancer is the result of fast and abnormal cell growth. Urologic cancers affect the organs and structures of the male and female urinary system and the male reproductive system.
Types of Urologic Cancers
Named for the structures they affect, types of urologic cancers include:
- Bladder cancer affects the cells that line the urinary bladder, a small sac that collects urine for excretion. Doctors diagnose close to 71,000 people in the United States with bladder cancer each year.
- Renal (kidney) cancer forms in the small tubes that clean the blood of the kidneys. Renal pelvis cancer is a rare form of this disease. It occurs in the part of the kidney that connects to the bladder. Doctors diagnose about 49,100 cases of renal and renal pelvis cancers each year.
- Testicular cancer forms in a testis and accounts for only one percent of all cancers in men. Each year, doctors diagnose around 8,400 cases in the U.S.
- Penile cancer is rare. It affects the penis — the male reproductive organ, which is as a part of the urinary system.
- Urethral cancer occurs in the urethra, the tube that conducts urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. In men, the urethra travels through the penis; it also carries semen. Urethral cancer is rare, and it occurs more often in men than in women.