EDITORIAL

TBNA in the evaluation of patients with lung cancer

Usefulness of transbronchial needle aspiration in evaluating patients with lung cancer

S Gasparini¹, G A Silvestri²

¹ Pulmonary Diseases Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy
² Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr S Gasparini
U.O. Pneumologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Via Conca, Ancona 60020, Italy; s.gasparini@fastnet.it

---

There is a need to promote more widespread use of TBNA for evaluating NSCLC

---

Keywords: transbronchial needle aspiration; bronchoscopy; lung cancer; staging

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Since the introduction of flexible bronchoscopes in 1968,¹ various ancillary related methods of sampling lung tissue have been developed to greatly expand the diagnostic capabilities of the procedure. Perhaps the most important innovation has been the development of needles with the ability to puncture the tracheobronchial wall, allowing the bronchoscopist to go beyond the barrier of the airways to obtain specimens from both hilar and mediastinal structures.

After the publication of Dr Ko-Pen Wang’s initial experience with transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) in the 1980s,^2,3 it became clear that this technique had great potential in both the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer as well as other diseases. The only limiting requirement is that the lymph node must be in close contact with the airways, which is most frequently the case in patients with lung cancer. Despite numerous publications highlighting the safety . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Airwaves

Wisia Wedzicha
Thorax 2005 60: 885. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Melloni, G., Casiraghi, M., Bandiera, A., Ciriaco, P., Carretta, A., Libretti, L., Zannini, P. (2009). Transbronchial needle aspiration in lung cancer patients suitable for operation with positive mediastinal positron emission tomography.. Ann. Thorac. Surg. 87: 373-378 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kennedy, M P, Jimenez, C A, Bruzzi, J F, Mhatre, A D, Lei, X, Giles, F J, Fanning, T, Morice, R C, Eapen, G A (2008). Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of lymphoma. Thorax 63: 360-365 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Diacon, A. H., Schuurmans, M. M., Theron, J., Brundyn, K., Louw, M., Wright, C. A., Bolliger, C. T. (2007). Transbronchial needle aspirates: how many passes per target site?. Eur Respir J 29: 112-116 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Herth, F. J. F., Rabe, K. F., Gasparini, S., Annema, J. T. (2006). Transbronchial and transoesophageal (ultrasound-guided) needle aspirations for the analysis of mediastinal lesions. Eur Respir J 28: 1264-1275 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• (2006). Community child health and child public health joint session. Arch. Dis. Child. 91: A86-A88 [Full Text]