Genitourinary Cancer Care Designed for You
Genitourinary cancers affect the urinary system of both men and women, as well as the male reproductive system. Cancers impacting the female reproductive organs are considered gynecologic cancers.
Types of Genitourinary Cancer We Treat
There are four main types of genitourinary cancer. Depending on which areas are affected, you may be diagnosed with:
Bladder Cancer
The bladder plays a critical role in passing waste through the body. Bladder cancer develops when certain cells begin to multiply uncontrollably and form tumors in your bladder. It’s classified in three ways based on the types of cells that become cancerous – transitional cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. When bladder cancer is caught early, doctors can treat it relatively successfully.
Download the bladder cancer guide.
Bladder Cancer Risk Factors
Bladder cancer typically affects those age 55 and older and is four times more likely to develop in men than women. White men are two times more likely to develop bladder cancer than Black men.
Other risk factors for bladder cancer include:
- Using tobacco, especially smoking cigarettes
- Having a family history of bladder cancer
- Having certain changes in the genes that are linked to bladder cancer
- Being exposed to paints, dyes, metals or petroleum products in the workplace
- Past treatment with radiation therapy to the pelvis or with certain anticancer drugs
- Taking Aristolochia fangchi, a Chinese herb
- Drinking water that has been treated with chlorine or is from a well with high levels of arsenic
- Having a history of bladder infections
- Using urinary catheters for a long time
Bladder Cancer Signs and Symptoms
Some signs and symptoms of bladder cancer include:
- Blood in the urine
- Frequent need to pass urine
- Pain, burning or other problems when passing urine
- Lower back pain
Since these can also be indicators of other conditions, check with your primary care provider so they can determine the cause.
Bladder Cancer Treatments
Surgery allows doctors to remove the part of the bladder that is affected.
Radiation therapy targets abnormal cells with radiation, which damages them and keeps them from reproducing.
Chemotherapy uses medication to kill cancer cells to slow down their growth and eliminate the disease.
Immunotherapy helps your body create more immune cells, which find and kill cancer cells.
Kidney Cancer
Your kidneys are responsible for filtering blood and removing waste. Kidney, or renal, cancer develops when cancer cells are found in the lining of the kidneys.
Kidney Cancer Risk Factors
Risk factors for kidney cancer include:
- Smoking
- Misusing certain pain medicines for a long time
- Being overweight
- Having high blood pressure
- Having a family history of renal cell cancer
- Having certain genetic conditions, such as Von Hippel-Lindau disease or hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma
Kidney Cancer Signs and Symptoms
Some signs and symptoms of kidney cancer include:
- Blood in the urine
- A lump in the abdomen
- A pain in the side that does not go away
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss for no known reason
- Anemia
These signs and symptoms may be caused by kidney cancer or by other conditions. Additionally, there may be no signs or symptoms in the early stages of kidney cancer, but they can appear as the tumor grows.
If you think you may have kidney cancer, schedule an appointment with your primary care provider.
Kidney Cancer Treatments
Surgery allows doctors to remove the part of the kidney that is affected. You can live with just part of one working kidney. If both kidneys are completely removed, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Radiation therapy targets abnormal cells with radiation, which damages them and keeps them from reproducing.
Chemotherapy uses medication to kill cancer cells to slow down their growth and eliminate the disease.
Immunotherapy helps your body create more immune cells, which find and kill cancer cells.
Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells without harming normal cells.
Prostate Cancer
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland found in the male reproductive system that surrounds the urethra. When cells in the gland begin to grow out of control, prostate cancer can form. It’s one of the most common types of cancer in men.
Prostate Cancer Risk Factors
About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. It’s more likely to develop in older men and in non-Hispanic Black men. About 60% of cases are diagnosed in men who are 65 or older.
Prostate cancer can be hereditary, so your doctor may advise you to see a genetics provider if you have a family history of prostate cancer.
Your primary care provider can help get you started on a screening schedule that makes sense for you and your risk factors.
Prostate Cancer Signs & Symptoms
People may not experience symptoms of prostate cancer in its early stages. As the cancer advances, it may cause:
- Frequent urination, especially at night
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine
- Difficulty urinating, including starting the flow or emptying the bladder completely
- Pain or burning during urination
- Blood in the urine or semen
- Discomfort in the pelvis, hips or back that does not go away
- Erectile dysfunction
- Painful ejaculation
- Unexplained weight loss
Other symptoms can include shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue and a fast heart rate. If you start to experience these symptoms, talk to your primary care provider right away.
Prostate Cancer Treatments
Surgery allows doctors to remove the tumor. They may recommend different kinds of surgery based on your needs, health and tumor size.
Radiation therapy targets abnormal cells with radiation, which damages them and keeps them from reproducing.
Hormone therapy is a cancer treatment that removes or blocks hormones to stop cancer cells from growing.
Chemotherapy uses medication to kill cancer cells to slow down their growth and eliminate the disease.
Immunotherapy helps your body create more immune cells, which find and kill cancer cells.
Bisphosphonate therapy is used to reduce bone loss if cancer has spread to the bone.
Radiopharmaceutical therapy uses a radioactive substance to treat cancer that has spread outside the prostate.
Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer is a disease in which cancer forms in the tissue of one or both testicles. The two main types of testicular tumors are seminomas and non-seminomas, which grow and spread differently and are treated differently.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men ages 20 to 35.
Testicular Cancer Risk Factors
Many risk factors can determine the likelihood of developing testicular cancer, including:
- Having had an undescended testicle
- Having had abnormal development of the testicles
- Having a personal or family history of testicular cancer (especially in a father or brother)
- Being white
Testicular Cancer Signs & Symptoms
Some signs and symptoms of testicular cancer include:
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine
- Sudden urge to urinate
- Frequent urination (especially at night)
- Difficulty starting the flow of urine
- Difficulty emptying the bladder completely
- Pain or burning while urinating
- Blood in the urine or semen
- A pain in the back, hips or pelvis that does not go away
Since these can also be indicators of other conditions, check with your primary care provider so they can determine the cause.
Testicular Cancer Treatments
Surgery allows doctors to remove the testicle and some of the surrounding lymph nodes.
Radiation therapy targets abnormal cells with radiation, which damages them and keeps them from reproducing.
Chemotherapy uses medication to kill cancer cells to slow down their growth and eliminate the disease.
High-dose chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant is a treatment method that uses doses of chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells, followed by a stem cell transplant when treatment is complete. The reinfused stem cells can restore the body’s blood cells.