Study characteristics
| Paper | Eligible patients (n) | Patient population | Inclusion criteria |
| Okamoto (2002)18 | 37 | Suspected lung cancer | ND |
| Yasufuku (2005)15 | 108 | Known/suspected lung cancer | CT mediastinal lymph nodes >1 cm on short axis |
| Rintoul (2005)16 | 20 | Known/suspected lung cancer | CT mediastinal lymph nodes >1 cm on short axis |
| Yasufuku (2006)17 | 102 | Known/suspected lung cancer | Stage I–IIIa |
| Plat (2006)10 | 33 | Suspected lung cancer | PET positive mediastinal lymph nodes |
| Pierard (2006)19 | 51 | Suspected lung cancer | PET positive mediastinal lymph nodes |
| Herth (2006)13 | 100 | Known NSCLC | CT mediastinal lymph nodes <1 cm on short axis |
| Yasufuku (2007)12 | 45 | Known/suspected lung cancer | Operable disease |
| Skwarski (2007)14 | 300 | Known/suspected lung cancer | ND |
| Annema (2007)11 | 21 | Known NSCLC | ND |
ND, not described; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; PET, positron emission tomography.