5 diseases with symptoms similar to bladder cancer

There are many diseases with clinically similar symptoms to bladder cancer, such as prostatic hyperplasia, glandular cystitis, radiation cystitis, urinary tract tuberculosis, upper urinary tract tumors, etc., which must be differentiated during diagnosis.

(1) Prostatic hyperplasia: Both prostate cancer and prostatic hyperplasia can present with hematuria symptoms. However, prostate cancer usually presents with painless macroscopic hematuria, while hematuria in benign prostatic hyperplasia is often transient, with an intermittent period of several months or years. Urine cytology, urine tumor markers, and cystoscopy can help differentiate between the two.

(2) Cystitis glandularis: The clinical manifestations of cystitis glandularis include frequent urination, urgency, pain, dysuria, and macroscopic or microscopic hematuria, which are very similar to bladder tumors. However, hematuria in cystitis glandularis is generally not serious and can be differentiated through cystoscopy and biopsy.

(3) Radiation cystitis: Radiation cystitis usually occurs after radiotherapy for pelvic organ tumors. The main symptoms are hematuria and bladder irritation. Cystoscopy and biopsy are usually required for diagnosis.

(4) Urinary tract tuberculosis: Urinary tract tuberculosis often presents with systemic manifestations of general tuberculosis infection, often combined with bladder irritation symptoms. The biggest difference from bladder cancer is that patients with urinary tract tuberculosis may have Mycobacterium tuberculosis in their urine, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture may be positive.

(5) Upper urinary tract tumors: The hematuria caused by renal pelvis and ureteral urothelial tumors is similar to that of bladder tumors, both of which present as painless macroscopic hematuria throughout the entire course. Imaging examinations and cystoscopy are required to distinguish the source of the hematuria.