helpful in reducing the rate of cancer recurrence in people who have cancer of the inner lining of the bladder (upper tract urothelial carcinoma). Serious side effects don't seem to be increased by chemotherapy. Advanced ureteral cancer cases may often be treated with immunotherapy when other treatment methods are not successful. Immunotherapy uses the body's own immune system to fight the cancer by helping the immune system to recognize these cancer cells as foreign. Epidemiology Between 1988 and 2001 in the United States, cancer surveillance reports to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute included 1,333 cases of ureteral cancer in adults: 808 male and 525 female, 1,158 white and 42 black. "Five-year relative survival rates from cancers of the ureter were similar among males vs. females..." Of the total, 1,251 (94%) were transitional cell carcinoma of the papillary type. It has been determined that transitional cell carcinoma is twice as common in Caucasian men when compared to African-American men. As mentioned by the National Cancer Institute, most cases of ureter cancer occur in the US, Canada, Northern Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Less common areas for ureter cancer diagnosis are Thailand, China, and the Philippines. See also Ureteral neoplasm, a type of tumor that can be primary, or associated with a metastasis from another site Urethral cancer, cancer of the urethra Urothelium, the tissue layer that lines much of the urinary tract, including the renal pelvis, the ureters, the bladder, and parts of the urethra Bladder cancer, cancer of the bladder References External links Transitional Cell Cancer (Kidney/Ureter), National Cancer Institute Rare cancers Urological neoplasia