Urologic cancers affect the organs and structures of the male and female urinary system and the male reproductive system.

Causes

Cancer can grow in the urine collection system, but it is uncommon. Renal pelvis and ureter cancers affect men more often than women and are more common in people older than 65. The causes of this cancer are not completely known. Long-term (chronic) irritation of the kidney from harmful substances removed in the urine may be a factor.

This irritation may be caused by:
Kidney damage due to overexposure to medicines, especially ones for pain (analgesic nephropathy).
Exposure to certain dyes and chemicals used to manufacture leather goods, textiles, plastics, and rubber.

Types of Urologic Cancers

• Bladder cancer affects the cells that line the urinary bladder, a small sac that collects urine for excretion. Doctors diagnose close to 71,000 people with bladder cancer each year.
• Renal (kidney) cancer forms in the small tubes that clean the blood of the kidneys. Renal pelvis cancer is a rare form of this disease. It occurs in the part of the kidney that connects to the bladder.
• Testicular cancer forms in a testis and accounts for only one percent of all cancers in men.
• Penile cancer is rare. It affects the penis — the male reproductive organ, which is as a part of the urinary system.
• Urethral cancer occurs in the urethra, the tube that conducts urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. In men, the urethra travels through the penis; it also carries semen. Urethral cancer is rare, and it occurs more often in men than in women.