Endobronchial ultrasound in the management of nonsmall cell lung cancer

Abstract

Flexible bronchoscopy plays a major role in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. One of the most important advances in this field is the development of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), which has extended the view of the bronchoscopist. These techniques are safe and allow assessment of the depth of tumour invasion in the central airways, detection of peripheral tumours before sampling, localisation of the central tumour in the lung parenchyma close to the central airways for real-time guided sampling, and staging of lymph nodes within the mediastinum. Progress in handling and analyses of the small samples obtained during EBUS procedures also allow modern pathological and molecular studies to be performed. This article reviews the data currently available in the field of convex and radial probe EBUS for the diagnosis and staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer and highlights the strengths but also the weaknesses of these new techniques.