Cystitis, an inflammation typically of the bladder, usually stems from bacterial infections and is often seen as a routine health issue, especially in women. However, this expansive study indicates it might serve as an early indicator of more significant health concerns in both genders. 

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK, affecting around 55,000 men annually and causing 12,000 deaths each year. 

The probability of developing bladder cancer soared nearly 34-fold in men and 30-fold in women during the same three-month period after a bout of cystitis. Similarly, the risk of kidney cancer increased 11 times in men and nearly eight times in women who experienced recent cystitis. 

Additionally, women confronted a heightened risk of certain gynaecological cancers, including those of the uterus and ovaries, within months following cystitis, with risks increasing from four to eight times as the data reveals. 

The study’s authors stated: “Acute cystitis can serve as a predecessor to urogenital cancers in individuals over the age of 50. The substantially heightened risks were most pronounced within three months after the acute cystitis case and remained elevated for a number of years thereafter.”

They added: “Acute cystitis may act as a useful predictor of urogenital cancer in men and women aged 50 years and older.”

They pointed to a number of possible factors that could explain the results, stating: “It is plausible that urogenital cancer, and perhaps even precancerous changes in the urogenital organ, might increase the risk of cystitis because of compromised urinary tract and host defence.

“Moreover, it is possible that certain occult urogenital cancers, especially urinary tract cancers, could present symptoms similar to those of cystitis, which might explain the particularly high risk of subsequent urogenital cancer shortly after the cystitis event.

“For clinicians, the findings indicate that acute cystitis could be a clinical marker for urogenital cancer.”