Endobronchial ultrasound: from lung cancer diagnosis and staging to translational research

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is probably the most important advance in thoracic diseases in the last decade. EBUS-TBNA was first applied for the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in lung cancer patients. Thereafter, its indications quickly evolved, and the method is currently used for the diagnosis of many thoracic diseases, including sarcoidosis, thymomas, tuberculosis, lymphomas, and metastatic diseases.