Urethral Cancer

Your urethra is the tube that carries urine from your bladder to the outside of your body to allow you to urinate.

Although very rare, cancer can develop in the tissues of the urethra. The average survival rate for urethral cancer is about four years. The likelihood of surviving five years after diagnosis is 46%, and the likelihood of surviving 10 years after diagnosis is 31%.

Common symptoms include:

• Blood in the urine
• Discharge or bleeding from the urethra
• Frequent urination or a frequent urge to urinate without passing much urine
• Trouble passing urine
• Pain, low flow, or dribbling while urinating
• Inability to control urine (urinary incontinence)
• Enlarged lymph nodes in the groin

The exact cause of urethral cancer is not known; however, some factors increase your possibility of developing it. Those factors include:

• Gender: Women tend to get urethral cancer more often than men.
• Chronic inflammation: Frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs) or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can cause chronic inflammation of the urethra and put you at risk.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV): HPV has been linked to urethral cancer, especially HPV 16. The HPV vaccine can protect against type 16.
• Age: Urethral cancer is most common in people 60 and older.
• Previous cancer/treatment: Having had bladder cancer increases the risk of developing urethral cancer. Additionally, if you have had previous radiation therapy for cancer or other conditions your risk may increase, especially in men.

What to know before your visit to Advanced Urology Institute. :

• During your visit, your doctor will ask you questions regarding your medical history, including questions about sexually transmitted diseases or other cancers, and will perform an exam.

Other tests that may be performed during or after your visit:

• Bloodwork and urine testing
• Cystoscopy: a small, lighted tool called a cystoscope to see the inside of the urethra and bladder.
• Tissue biopsy: typically done under general anesthesia, the urologist takes tissue samples that can be examined to confirm diagnosis.

More tests can be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, such as:

• CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis: to check the lymph nodes that collect drainage from the urethra
• MRI: to look at the local extent of the tumor
• Chest X-ray: to make sure that the tumor has not spread to the lungs
• Bone scan: may be needed to see if it has spread to your bones.
• Excretory urography or retrograde pyelography: if the urethral cancer is a certain type called transitional cell carcinoma, this is used to see the lining of the kidney and ureter to make sure there are no other sites of cancer.

Your doctor can then use a grading scale on your tumor to see how advanced the cancer is.

NON-SURGICAL TREATMENTS

• Radiation therapy – To destroy cancer cells, radiation is a common treatment. It may be used with or without surgery and chemotherapy, depending on the stage of the cancer.
• Chemotherapy – These are medications typically used in cases where cancer has spread to other parts of the body. It may be used with or without surgery and radiation, depending on the stage of the cancer.

SURGICAL TREATMENTS

The type of surgery depends on whether the cancer is superficial (on the surface or confined to an area) or invasive (involving deeper tissues).