Cancer of the bladder has a bad reputation: the combination of urinary problems and malignancy gives just cause for continuing concern. Not only is this common cancer a burden to the patient but, because of the need for regular follow-up, it creates a large workload on the urological services. It might be imagined that the bladder would give early warning signals of disease, and indeed it may do so; yet it can also be hesitant to reveal its severity. Thus there are many problems that create challenges in the diagnosis and management. Prevention is still the first goal of an oncologist, with early detection of early disease being the next best option. Early bladder cancer is amenable to several therapeutic approaches, but we have still to determine the best approach. The management of more advanced invasive bladder cancer all too often leads to disappointment, and we remain uncertain as to the optimum approach-surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or some combination of these. Although none of these problems may be fully answered either now or in the near future, many people are working towards their solution, and the rate of progress needs to be documented from time to time.
This volume aims to set the standard for the present state of our knowledge on bladder cancer. The editors, Professor Ernst Zingg and Mr'. Michael Wallace, have gathered together the best opinions on a wide range of topics relating to bladder cancer.