GPs are being alerted to new research that suggests those with bladder cancer have a higher risk of lung cancer and should have a chest CT as part of cancer staging.

The warning comes from the authors of a paper that shows patients with transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder (TCC) have a 3.2% five-year incidence of lung cancer and a 5.94% 10-year incidence.

These correspond to expected rates of 1.61% and 3.21% in a matched sample population, say researchers who analysed US data on more than 91,000 patients with localised TCC.

The findings are the first to show that patients with superficial TCC also have a high incidence of lung cancer, the authors write in Clinical Lung Cancer.