3 research outputs found
Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in the Staging of Bronchogenic Carcinoma
To evaluate the usefulness of transbronchial needle aspiration biopsy (TBNA) for the
diagnosis of mediastinal involvement, we have prospectively examined 316 patients with
morphologically verified bronchogenic carcinoma. The percentage of positive aspirations
(149 of 316) from the three basic lymph node groups in the mediastinum was not significantly
different. Tumor cells were aspirated from the mediastinum in 75 of 112 patients
with radiologically positive findings and in patients with 74 of 204 radiologically negative
findings. Mediastinal involvement was verified even in 61 of 196 patients with a normal
endoscopic picture. Metastases were proved in 14 of 39 patients with peripheral versus
135 of 277 patients with central carcinoma. Tumor cells were aspirated in 47 of 76
patients with undifferentiated small cell carcinoma, 92 of 227 patients with squamous cell
carcinoma, and 10 of 13 patients with adenocarcinoma. Our results suggest that TBNA
being a highly diagnostic and less invasive method, will prove its clinical importance