Washington University School of Medicine researchers found the number of months between each recurrence of superficial bladder cancer is progressively shorter with each recurrence.

Superficial bladder cancer is a cancer that hasn't invaded the deepest layers of the bladder wall.

The study included 270 people treated for superficial bladder cancer between January 1994 and April 1999. Follow-up times ranged from one month to 54 months.

Of the 270 people in the study, 47 percent had at least one recurrences, 14 percent had two or more recurrences, and 5 percent had three or more recurrences. The average time from initial treatment to first recurrence was 23 months. However, the average time between second and third recurrence was 15 and 13 months, respectively.

The study also identified two proteins in tumor cells that may help doctors predict the risk of recurrence. The findings appear in the current issue of Cancer.

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and the ninth most common in women. About 56,500 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and about 80 percent of those will be superficial bladder cancer.

More information

The National Cancer Institute has more on bladder cancer.