Newer procedures using the fiberoptic bronchoscope in the diagnosis of lung cancer

ABSTRACT

The overall survival rate from lung cancer is barely over 10%, and in the last 25 years there has been no major therapeutic advancement. Chemotherapy has extended the survival among patients with small cell carcinoma by a few months, while resectional lung surgery remains the only curative procedure for other types. Making the diagnosis at the first suspicion of the disease, while it is still in a limited stage or resectable, is currently the only hope to improve the outcome of bronchogenic carcinoma. Fiber-optic bronchoscopy is a high-yield and noninvasive means of diagnosing this condition. The present article is a review of newer tests being developed to increase the utility of fiberoptic bronchos-copy in diagnosing and staging of bronchogenic carcinoma.