[Prevention of bladder cancer]

Bladder cancer has a high incidence; therefore, the prevention of bladder cancer is useful. Each year 15,000 patients suffer from bladder cancer in Germany. These tumors are chemically induced and the development of bladder cancer is determined by the carcinogen and the time of exposure i.e., exposition time. Development of bladder cancer also depends on the patient's age. In patients younger than 45 years bladder cancer is a rare disease. The incidence of bladder cancer is 3 of 100,000 in males at the age of 45-50 years and it increases in the cohort of males older than 80 years to 200 of 100,000. Bladder cancer is a serious disease. The annual loss of life related to bladder cancer is 64,700 life years in Germany alone! Identification of carcinogens makes a preventative approach possible and leads to the detection of occupationally endangered people. Bladder cancer carcinogens include aromatic amines, medicaments (chlornaphazin, phenacetin, and cyclophosphamide), cigarette consumption, chronic infection of the lower urinary tract, radiation therapy of the pelvis, bilharciosis, Balkan nephropathy, and chronic interstitial nephritis.