Understanding symptom contribution to sex inequality in bladder and renal cancer stage at diagnosis

Background

Understanding sex-specific factors contributing to advanced-stage diagnosis can guide interventions to reduce sex inequality in patients with urological cancers.

Method

We used linked primary care and cancer registry data to examine associations between symptoms and advanced-stage in 1151 bladder cancer and 440 renal cancer patients diagnosed between January 2012 and December 2015 in England. We performed logistic regression, adjusting for sex, age, deprivation and routes to diagnosis, including interaction terms between symptoms and sex and symptoms and age.

Results

Female sex (OR vs. men 1.89 [1.28–2.79]; p = 0.001) and patients presenting with urinary tract infections (OR 2.22 [1.34–3.69]) and abdominal symptoms (OR 2.19 [1.30–3.70]) were associated with increased odds of advanced-stage bladder cancer (vs. haematuria, p = 0.016 for both). Women with haematuria and men with abdominal symptoms (compared with the opposite sex with the same presenting symptom) were more likely to have advanced-stage bladder cancer. Neither sex nor symptom associations were observed for renal cancer.

Conclusion

Non-haematuria symptoms are associated with higher risk of advanced-stage bladder cancer. Greater risk of advanced-stage bladder cancer in women may reflect biological differences in haematuria onset and sex differences during diagnostic process. Identifying higher risk women with haematuria may reduce sex inequalities in bladder cancer outcomes.