Endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for staging of lung cancer

Objective To evaluate the clinical effects of endobronchial ultrasound - transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in the evaluation of staging of lung cancer.Methods Between July 2008 to March 2010,the first 128 patients selected by CT or PET/CT scanning with lung cancer in whom metastatic carcinoma in the hilar and/or mediastinal lymph nodes underwent EBUS-TBNA and were clinically followed up.There were 102 males and 26 femals with the age of 37 - 85 years,average 60.1 years.Review the performance in check and the result of biopsy.Results From 128 patients of mean age 60.1 years ( range 37 - 85 ),189 lymph nodes were punctured.The mean diameter of the nodes was 12.3 mm and the range was 6-16 mm.There were no procedural complications.Accuracy,sensitivity,and specificity for EBUS-TBNA were 98.53％,98.50％,and 100％,respectively.Conclusion EBUS-TBNA allows real-time visualization of mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes,allowing sampling safely and efficiently.It has great potential for diagnosis of staging of lung cancer. Key words: Lung neoplasms Neoplasm staging Biopsy, needle Ultrasonography, interventional