LUNG CANCER 

Minerva Pneumologica 2012 March;51(1):11-21

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Transbronchial needle aspiration and endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration in lung cancer

Trisolini R. ¹, Livi V. ², Patelli M. ², Comel A. ³

¹ Unit of Thoracic Endoscopy and Pulmonology, Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy; ² Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Carlo Poma Hospital, Mantova, Italy; ³ Division of Pulmonary Medicine, City Hospital, Rimini, Italy

Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is a low cost, minimally invasive, and extremely versatile bronchoscopic sampling procedure which has long and successfully been used to sample mediastinal, central and peripheral pulmonary lesions. More recently, the possibility to perform TBNA under the guidance of endobronchial ultrasounds (EBUS) has further increased the usefulness of this sampling tool especially, yet not only, in the diagnostic approach to the mediastinal lesions. The aim of the present review was to summarize the current evidence on the role of TBNA and EBUS-TBNA in the setting of lung cancer.