The key difference between bladder cancer and UTI is that bladder cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the cells of the bladder. At the same time, UTI is a bacterial infection of the urinary tract that affects the urethra, bladder, and kidneys.
Bladder cancer and UTI are two medical conditions that affect the bladder. Both these diseases cause similar symptoms like blood in the urine, frequent urination, difficulty in urination, or pain while urinating. However, UTI can also cause some peculiar symptoms like bad-smelling urine, fever, and confusion. Moreover, both bladder cancer and UTI can be treated by urologists.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Bladder Cancer
3. What is UTI
4. Similarities – Bladder Cancer and UTI
5. Bladder Cancer vs. UTI in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Bladder Cancer vs. UTI
What is Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer typically starts in the cells of the bladder. The bladder is a hollow organ in the abdomen that stores urine. Generally, bladder cancer begins in the urothelial cells that line the inside of the bladder. The somatic mutations in the genes such as FGFR3, PIK3CA, KDM6A, and TP53 are more common in bladder cancers. Moreover, the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer include blood in the urine (hematuria), frequent urination, difficulty urination, painful urination, and back pain. The factors that increase the risk of bladder cancer include smoking, age (older than 55), being male, exposure to certain chemicals (arsenic and chemicals used in the manufacture of dyes, rubber, leather, textiles, and paint products), previous treatment with the anti-cancer drug cyclophosphamide, chronic bladder inflammation, and family history.
Figure 01: Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer can be diagnosed through cystoscopy, biopsy, urine cytology, and imaging tests (computerized tomography (CT) urogram or retrograde pyelogram, MRI, PET scan, bone scan, and chest X-ray). Furthermore, treatment options for bladder cancer may include surgery to remove cancer cells, intravesical chemotherapy, systemic chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy.
What is UTI?
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection in any part of the urinary system, such as the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. UTI is usually caused by bacteria such as E.coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas. Generally, women are at a greater risk of developing a urinary tract infection than men. Moreover, the signs and symptoms of this condition may include a strong urge to urinate, a burning sensation while urinating, frequent urination, passing small amounts of urine, cloudy urine, red, bright pink, or cola-colored urine, strong-smelling urine, and pain in the pelvic region of women. The risk factors for UTI include female anatomy, sexual activity, certain types of birth control, menopause, urinary tract problems, blockages in the urinary tract, a suppressed immune system, usage of catheters, and a recent urinary procedure.
Figure 02: UTI
UTI can be diagnosed through analyzing a urine sample, growing urinary tract bacteria in a laboratory, creating images of the urinary tract (CT scan and MRI), and cystoscopy. Furthermore, treatment options for UTI may include antibiotics such as trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin, cephalexin, ceftriaxone, fluoroquinolone, and Vaginal estrogen therapy.
What are the Similarities Between Bladder Cancer and UTI?
- Bladder cancer and UTI are two medical conditions that affect the bladder.
- Bladder cancer and UTI cause similar symptoms like blood in the urine, frequent urination, difficulty in urination, or pain while urinating.
- Both these conditions cause complications.
- Both these conditions can be diagnosed through cystoscopy, CT scan, and MRI.
- They are mainly treated through specific medications.
What is the Difference Between Bladder Cancer and UTI?
Bladder cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the cells of the bladder. At the same time, UTI is a bacterial infection of the urinary tract that affects the urethra, bladder, and kidneys. Thus, this is the key difference between bladder cancer and UTI. Furthermore, bladder cancer is caused by somatic mutations in the genes such as FGFR3, PIK3CA, KDM6A, and TP53. On the other hand, UTI is caused by infections by bacteria such as E.coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas.
The infographic below presents the differences between bladder cancer and UTI in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Bladder Cancer vs. UTI
Bladder cancer and UTI are two medical conditions that affect the urinary system. They mainly affect the bladder, which temporarily stores urine. However, UTI can also cause problems in the uterus and kidneys. Moreover, both these conditions cause similar symptoms, such as blood in the urine, frequent urination, difficulty in urination, or pain while urinating. UTI may result in additional symptoms such as foul-smelling urine, fever, and confusion. So this summarizes the difference between bladder cancer and UTI.
Reference:
1. “Bladder Cancer.” NHS Choices.
2. “Urinary Tract Infection (UTI).” Cleveland Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Bladder Cancer (27785800576)” By National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) from Bethesda, MD, USA – Bladder Cancer (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Depiction of a lady who has a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)” By Myupchar.com (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia