Pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of bladder leukoplakia

Bladder leukoplakia is a very rare bladder disease. Generally speaking, patients with this disease are around 40 years old. Therefore, middle-aged people should pay attention to maintaining good health in their daily lives to prevent such diseases. So, what are the causes of this disease?

Causes

The cause of this disease is still unclear. Patients with chronic cystitis, bladder stones, long-term indwelling catheters, and schistosomiasis bladder are prone to bladder leukoplakia, which may be caused by long-term chronic inflammation stimulating squamous metaplasia.

Pathogenesis

The bladder mucosa appears single or multiple scattered white spots of varying sizes, ranging from 0.2 cm in diameter to invading the entire bladder wall. New lesions are soft and thin, blue-gray or grayish white; old lesions are thicker and milky white. The plaques are irregular in shape, with slightly raised edges and no blood on the surface. The surface of the hyperplastic epithelium is often covered with a thick layer of keratin. Transitional cells transform into squamous cells, reducing the sliding function between cells, thus hindering the normal expansion and contraction of the bladder. There are a large number of inflammatory cells infiltrating the submucosal layer, dilated and congested blood vessels, and hyperplasia of muscles. There is edema and congestion around the lesions.

Clinical manifestations

Frequent urination, urgency and incomplete urination occur without obvious inducement, accompanied by discomfort during urination. There is little or no hematuria, fever and back pain during the course of the disease.

Because the clinical manifestations are difficult to distinguish from chronic cystitis, patients with recurrent urinary tract irritation symptoms and ineffective anti-inflammatory treatment need to undergo cystoscopy. Cystoscopy + biopsy is the only confirmatory method.