To schedule an appointment with a Hopkins physician treating Bladder cancer, please call one of the following doctors' offices directly.

If you are not sure whom to call, please contact:

Urology: 410.955.6706 / 410.955.6101
Oncology: referral office - 410.955.8964
Pathology: Dr. George Netto

For Patients: Get a Pathology second opinion
For Physicians: Anatomic Pathology consultations

Accurate diagnosis is essential to ensure the most effective TREATMENT. Here are just three examples:

• Cancer or Benign.
  Surprisingly, it is may be difficult to distinguish if a bladder lesion is a benign reaction to another process (for example, an infection or a catheter) or a bladder cancer. Treatment and prognosis hinge upon this crucial distinction. The pathology of the bladder is complex and therefore a second opinion is often advisable.
• Extent of Cancer.
  On biopsy specimens, it may be difficult to distinguish superficially invasive bladder cancer from muscle invasive cancer. The treatment for muscle invasive cancer is very different from superficially invasive bladder cancer.
• Type of Cancer.
  Is the cancer a bladder cancer or from another site (e.g., a prostate carcinoma that has spread to the bladder)? While the pathology can look very similar, the treatment for these conditions is often very different. We offer consultative diagnostic interpretation of pathologic materials derived from the bladder and urinary tract by our specialist Dr. Jonathan Epstein and Dr. George Netto.

Research on Bladder Cancer at The Johns Hopkins Hospital can be divided into clinical and experimental research.

The goal of our clinical research is to optimize treatment for patients with bladder cancers today using treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. We are also looking for markers that can be used to predict which non-invasive bladder cancers are likely to recur and progress, so that patients may be treated while the disease is early and curable.

The goal of our experimental research is to learn more about the genetic mechanisms that cause bladder cancers. By understanding what is abnormal about the makeup of the cancer cells, we will be able to find more effective, less toxic ways of treating patients in the future. Also, we can use our knowledge of the genetic abnormalities in bladder cancer to design newer, more sensitive screening tests.