[Bladder cancer and old age. Study of the occurrence and status of diagnosis in the GDR with respect to old age].

Bladder cancer and age. A study on the morbidity and on the state of detection and treatment with respect to age in the G.D.R. Malignant neoplasms of the urinary bladder account for about 1,400 registered new cancer cases and 1,100 deaths annually in the G.D.R. As compared with other developed industrialized countries, incidence and mortality from bladder cancer is relatively low in the G.D.R. Analysis of age-standardized incidence and mortality from 1956 to 1974 gives no clearcut evidence of an increase of bladder cancer morbidity. A regional analysis of the state of detection and treatment of bladder cancer was performed in the capital Berlin (1955-1974) and the city of Dresden (1969/70). It can be shown that there is a decrease of localized stages, of radically operated tumours and of survival rates with increasing age at time of diagnosis. In Berlin more than 30 per cent of new cases are 75 years and older. Localized stages I and II amount to nearly 50 per cent of newly registered bladder cancer cases. While mean age of patients increased in the observation period and stage distribution remained about equal, rate of radical interventions showed a slight increase reflecting a more aggressive approach to treatment. Higher survival rates can be expected in the future.