Introduction:

bladder cancer is a disease that generally affects elderly male patients. This tumour has two main forms of manifestation: as a low-grade superficial tumor or as a high-grade invasive neoplasm. Most of the patients affected with this disease have tobacco consumption as a risk factor.

Objective:

to contribute to the knowledge of the scientific community in relation to the risk factors associated with bladder cancer in elderly patients.

Methods:

a systematic review on the subject was carried out in SciELO, EBSCO, Scopus and PubMed databases as well as in Urology journals. Articles published in Spanish or English languages were taken into account. A content analysis was conducted to achieve a theoretical update on this topic.

Conclusions:

bladder cancer is a multifocal disease that causes the appearance of several neoformations within the transitional epithelium and throughout its entire length. The presence of asymptomatic hematuria in adult patients was the most common reason for consultation with the urologist. The main risk factor was tobacco consumption.