Background: Bladder cancer is the second most common malignancy of the genitourinary tract worldwideafter prostate cancer. However, in Iran it is the most common cancer of the genitourinary system and the thirdmost common cancer in males. The increasing trend in bladder cancer incidence in recent decades, along with thelack of research on this malignancy in Iran, make epidemiologic research important in light of its preventabilitythrough early recognition and limiting exposure to risk factors. The present study aimed to assess the epidemiologyof bladder cancer in Shiraz, a large city in southern Iran, during a 2-year period. Methods: The data for this studywere obtained from the population-based cancer registry of the Vice-Chancellery for Health Affairs of ShirazUniversity of Medical Sciences and Shiraz hospitals between March 1, 2007 and March 1, 2009. Demographic,clinical and pathological aspects of 216 patients with bladder cancer were investigated through careful reviewof their medical records. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software. P values less than 0.05 wereconsidered statistically significant. Results: We analyzed data for 179 (82.9%) men and 37 (17.1%) women (meanage of 65.1±12.7 years). Tobacco and opium use were found in 109 (65.3%) and 44 (34.1%) patients, respectively.Cigarette smokers and water pipe smokers were mostly men (P=0.001 and P=0.04, respectively). The mostcommon type of tumor was transitional cell carcinoma (95.7%) and most tumors were of low malignant potentialgrade (39.7%). Nearly half of the patients suffered recurrence. Conclusion: Comparisons with previous studiesshowed that bladder cancer tends to appear slightly more often in the elderly and that the tumors tend to havea higher grade of malignancy in our region. There is a need for more epidemiologic studies on the trends in theincidence and other epidemiologic indices.
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