Whole-bladder-wall (WBW) photodynamic therapy (PDT) is performed using approximately 630 nm light emitted by an isotropic light source centered in the bladder cavity. The phenomenon of an increased fluence rate in this spherical geometry, due to light scattering, is denoted as the integrating sphere effect. The fluence rate and the optical penetration depth depend on a single tissue optical parameter, namely the reduced albedo. The optical properties of (diseased) human bladder tissue, i.e. absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, anisotropy factor and refractive index, were determined in vitro in the wavelength range of 450-880 nm. The integrating sphere effect and optical penetration depth were calculated with diffusion theory and compared to Monte Carlo (MC) computer simulations using approximately 630 nm optical properties. With increasing albedo, the integrating sphere effect calculated with diffusion approximation is increasingly larger than that found with MC simulations. Calculated and simulated optical penetration depths are in reasonable agreement. The smaller the integrating sphere effect for a given tissue absorption, the larger the optical penetration depth into the bladder wall, as the effective attenuation coefficient decreases. Optical penetration depths up to approximately 7.5 mm (definition dependent) can be responsible for unintended tissue damage beyond the bladder tissue. MC simulations were also performed with an eccentric light source and the uniformity of the light distribution at the bladder wall was assessed. The simulations show that even for a small eccentricity, the extremes in deviation from the mean fluence rate are large. All these results indicate that WBW PDT should be performed with some kind of in situ light dosimetry.