The Copenhagen bladder cancer project I

A material of 746 consecutive patients with tumours of the bladder from three hospitals in Greater Copenhagen for the period 1968-1974 is presented. This is the result of The Copenhagen Bladder Cancer Project. Some of the aims of the project were to describe the manifestations of bladder cancer by means of a number of examination parameters. The material may be regarded as representative for the region. About 80 percent of the patients are men, and the mean age is 66 years, but higher for patients with deeply invasive tumours and tumours of low degree of differentiation. Haematuria was the presenting symptom in 84 percent of the patients, and only 3.4 percent had urinary tract infection as sole first symptom. The interval from first symptom to hospitalisation was an average of 7.6 months, but less for cases of deeply invasive tumours and tumours of low degree of differentiation. About 60 percent of all bladder tumours are evaluated as being without invasion of the bladder nusculature, and 59 percent of the tumours are of a high degree of differentiation (Grade 0+I+II). Squamous cell carcinomas are found in about three percent and adenocarcinomas in about one percent of the cases. Benign papillomas, corresponding to Grade 0 tumours, are found in only one percent of the cases. About 50 percent of all transitional cell tumours are both superficial and show a high degree of differentiation. Grade II tumours show invasive growth in at least 25 percent of the cases and Grade III tumours in at least 77 percent. The bladder tumours are papillomatous in 66 percent of the cases, and 24 percent of the patients have more than one tumour in the bladder. Intravenous urography showed a pathological condition in 70 percent of the patients.