Page 1 - CUA-BCC _Brochure 2022

Patient Guide to

Metastatic Urothelial

Carcinoma Treatment

What is metastatic urothelial carcinoma?
Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer. It is called that because it starts in the cells that
line the inside of the bladder, which are called urothelial cells. Urothelial carcinomas can affect the bladder as well
as the upper urinary tract (including the ureters which are the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder).

Bladder cancers are often divided into groups based on how far they have spread:
• Non-invasive bladder cancer only affects the inner lining of the bladder.
• Non-invasive bladder cancer may also describe cancer that has grown past the inner lining but has not grown
into the muscular layer of the bladder. (This is also known as non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer).
• Muscle-invasive bladder cancer has grown into the muscles deep within the bladder wall and sometimes into
the fat that surrounds the bladder.
• Metastatic bladder cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver or bone. Metastatic
cancer is often described as “unresectable,” meaning that it cannot be surgically removed or “resected.”

Non-invasive bladder Invasive stage Metastatic stage
Invasive stage
Non-invasive stage
Metastatic stage
Tumor

Bladder Submucosa Muscle Fat Cancer cells
lining

So, metastatic urothelial carcinoma (MUC) is a type of bladder cancer
that has spread to other parts of the body.