Cracking the Code to Earlier Bladder Cancer Diagnosis
Bladder cancer kills when caught late – yet symptom awareness remains dangerously low.1 Despite a five-year survival rate of just 40% for those diagnosed at Stage 3,2 many people delay seeking help, even when symptoms are present. The scale of this delay – the 'symptom to action gap' – remains unknown.
To change this, Astellas has partnered with the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC) and behavioral scientists to uncover what's stopping people from acting sooner. By understanding the cultural, emotional and societal barriers to seeking help, we aim to drive earlier diagnosis and improve outcomes for people affected by this overlooked disease around the world.
Understanding the scale of the challenge
Existing understanding and research focuses on patient experience of diagnosis and treatment. We know far less however, about what factors influence how quickly people seek medical support for their symptoms.
Learning more about the experience from symptom identification to diagnosis could help us to identify triggers to support earlier diagnoses and better outcomes. In collaboration with a team of behavioral scientists, four areas of research have been identified to explore further and unlock potential solutions:
- Symptom attribution and normalization – when urinary symptoms are normalized or mistaken for other causes (e.g., stress, pre-existing condition, a urinary infection, menstrual period aging)
- Psychological factors – the influence of emotional and psychological factors, including fear, embarrassment, denial, which may discourage care-seeking behavior
- Societal attitudes, gender and cultural norms – people’s expectations of care and trust in healthcare systems and comfort levels in seeking care
- Health literacy – people’s confidence in understanding symptoms, discussing health issues and the care options available
What next?
Astellas has partnered with the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC) and a team of behavioral scientists to crack the code to earlier diagnosis. We’re driving behavioral science-powered research to uncover what drives or delays action – and to find new ways to help people get the care they need, faster.
Our first-of-its-kind research in the US, France, Italy and Germany aims to close the critical gap between recognizing potential bladder cancer symptoms and seeking earlier diagnoses and care. Our aim is to generate insights that will help us better engage with and encourage at-risk members of the general public to take action early.
REFERENCES:
1. Zhang Y, Rumgay H, Li M, Yu H, Pan H, Ni J. The global landscape of bladder cancer incidence and mortality in 2020 and projections to 2040. J Glob Health. 2023 Sep 15;13:04109. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10502766/. Accessed May 2025.
2. Cancer Research UK. Survival for bladder cancer. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bladder-cancer/survival. Accessed May 2025.
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