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Other ways to diagnose bladder cancer (part 7)


Bangladeshpost
Published : 07 Jun 2022 08:45 PM

After confirming that you have bladder cancer, your doctor may recommend additional tests to determine whether your cancer has spread to your lymph nodes or to other areas of your body.

• CT scan

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

• Positron emission tomography (PET)

• Bone scan

• Chest X-ray

Your doctor uses information from these procedures to assign your cancer a stage. The stages of bladder cancer are indicated by Roman numerals ranging from 0 to IV. The lowest stages indicate a cancer that's confined to the inner layers of the bladder and that hasn't grown to affect the muscular bladder wall. The highest stage — stage IV — indicates cancer that has spread to lymph nodes or organs in distant 

Bladder cancers are further classified based on how the cancer cells appear when viewed through a microscope. 

• Low-grade bladder cancer: This type of cancer has cells that are closer in appearance and organization to normal cells (well differentiated). A low-grade tumor usually grows more slowly and is less likely to invade the muscular wall of the bladder than is a high-grade tumor.

• High-grade bladder cancer: This type of cancer has cells that are abnormal-looking and that lack any resemblance to normal-appearing tissues (poorly differentiated). A high-grade tumor tends to grow more aggressively than a low-grade tumor and may be more likely to spread to the muscular wall of the bladder and other tissues and organs.

Courtesy: Mayo Clinic