Abstract
Background: Evaluation of the extend of disease or stage (TNM) is a prerequisite for correct treatment of lung cancer. Several studies have showed that biopsies and fine needle aspirations obtained by EBUS-TBNA and EUS-FNA yield similar results as mediascopy, which previously have been considered the gold standard for evaluation of mediastinal nodal involvement in NSCLC. Thus EBUS-TBNA and EUS-FNA should now be considered as procedures which are equally effective as mediastinoscopy in staging while at the same time being more gentle to the patient.
Material: We therefore used data from a population based lung cancer registry to evaluate the association between frequency of use of EBUS-TBNA/ EUS-FNA and precision of mediastinal diagnostic work-up. EUS in diagnostics and staging of lung cancer have been used in several centres for more than a decade and since 2005 several centres have inter grated EBUS TBNA in their procedures.
Results: The material consisted of 7000 operated patients since 2003. The use of endoscopic ultrasound (EBUS-TBNA/EUS-FNA were mostly used in one region and mediastinoscopy in another. The concordance between cN and pN were higest and equal in the regionswhere mainly mediastinoscopy were used and the reion where Endoscopic Ultrasound were used
Conclusion: For the first time it is possible to get an impression of the impact of the use of EBUS-TBNA and EUS-FNA in a national populationof lung cancer patients. The were no difference in the cN/pN ratio in the areas where they used mediastinoscopy and where they used endoscopic Ultrasound.
- © 2011 ERS
