Incidence of Bladder Cancer in Women
In the United States, approximately 17,910 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed annually in women, representing about 24-27% of all bladder cancer cases, with bladder cancer being 3 to 4 times less common in women than in men. 1
United States Incidence Data
Annual new cases in women: Approximately 17,580-17,910 new diagnoses per year in the United States 1
Proportion of total cases: Women account for approximately 24-27% of all bladder cancer diagnoses, while men account for 73-76% 1
Male-to-female ratio: Bladder cancer occurs 3 to 4 times more frequently in men than women 1, 2, 3, 4
Annual mortality in women: Approximately 4,150-4,370 deaths from bladder cancer occur in women annually in the United States 1
European Incidence Data
Age-standardized incidence rate: In Europe, the incidence rate is 3.5 per 100,000 persons for females compared to 17.7 per 100,000 for males 1
Total European cases: An estimated 151,297 new bladder cancer cases were diagnosed in Europe in 2012, with women representing the minority of cases 1
Age-Related Patterns
Median age at diagnosis: 65 years, with approximately 70% of patients being over 65 years of age at diagnosis 1
Rare in younger patients: Bladder cancer is rarely diagnosed in individuals younger than 40 years 1
Lifetime risk in women: The risk of developing bladder cancer before age 75 is 0.5% to 1% in women, compared to 2% to 4% in men 3
Important Clinical Context
Women present with more advanced disease at diagnosis and have worse stage-for-stage mortality compared to men, primarily due to delays in hematuria evaluation. 5 This gender disparity in outcomes occurs despite the lower incidence, making early recognition of symptoms particularly critical in female patients.
The higher stage at presentation in women may be related to diagnostic delays, as hematuria in women is often initially attributed to gynecologic or urinary tract infection causes 4, 5
Transitional cell carcinomas show a particularly pronounced male predominance (4:1 ratio), while non-transitional cell cancers show a somewhat lower male predominance (2.7:1 ratio) 4