Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration for staging patients with carcinoma of the lung

Background. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration is a safe, cost-effective procedure that can confirm the presence of mediastinal lymph node metastases and mediastinal tumor invasion. We studied the accuracy of EUS in a large population of lung cancer patients with and without enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes on computed tomographic (CT) scan.

Methods. From 1996 to 2000 all patients referred to our institution with lung tumors and no proven distant metastases were considered for EUS and surgical staging. Patients had endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration of abnormal appearing mediastinal lymph nodes and evaluation for mediastinal invasion of tumor (stage III or IV disease). Patients without confirmed stage III or IV disease had surgical staging.

Results. Two hundred seventy-seven patients met the inclusion criteria, including 121 who had EUS. Endoscopic ultrasound and fine needle aspiration detected stage III or IV disease in 85 of 121 (70%). Among patients with enlarged lymph nodes on CT, 75 of 97 (77%) had stage III or IV disease detected by EUS. Among a small cohort of patients without enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes on CT, 10 of 24 (42%) had stage III or IV disease detected by EUS. For mediastinal lymph nodes only, the sensitivity of endoscopic ultrasound and CT was 87%. The specificity of EUS (100%) was superior to that of CT (32%) (p < 0.001).

Conclusions. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration identified and histologically confirmed mediastinal disease in more than two thirds of patients with carcinoma of the lung who have abnormal mediastinal CT scans. Although mediastinal disease was more likely in patients with an abnormal mediastinal CT, EUS also detected mediastinal disease in more than one third of patients with a normal mediastinal CT and deserves further study. Endoscopic ultrasound should be considered a first line method of presurgical evaluation of patients with tumors of the lung.     

超声内镜引导下细针抽吸活检术的并发症的临床观察

目的评估超声内镜引导下细针抽吸活检术(EUS-FNA)相关并发症发生率及可能原因。方法选择2009年10月至2014年10月我院住院期间行EUS-FNA患者,分析并发症发生情况。结果共108例患者行EUS-FNA,其中74例行胰腺占位穿刺,17例行食管占位穿刺,10例行胃部占位穿刺,5例行十二指肠壶腹部占位穿刺,2例行直肠占位穿刺。并发症发生情况包括术后2例(1.85%)出现感染,2例(1.85%)出现腹痛,经内科对症治疗后好转,无术后出血、消化道穿孔或急性胰腺炎等并发症。结论 EUS-FNA相关并发症发生率低,是一项较为安全的检查方法。     

Accuracy of preoperative ultrasound and ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration cytology for axillary staging in breast cancer

Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative ultrasound and ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology (US‐FNAC) for detecting axillary metastases, and to assess how often sentinel node biopsy could be avoided. Methods: Axillary ultrasound, as a part of routine preoperative staging, was performed in 189 patients with histologically proven breast cancer. US‐FNAC was performed on all lymph nodes (LNs) with features suggestive of metastatic disease on ultrasound characteristics and LNs larger than 1 cm regardless of whether the nodes appear normal or abnormal. The cytologic results were compared with the final histological diagnosis. Results: The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the ultrasound alone of axillary LNs for metastatic breast cancer were 54, 91, 75 and 81%, retrospectively. For the US‐FNAC, the respective values were 80, 98, 97 and 84%. Conclusions: Preoperative axillary ultrasound in combination with US‐FNAC provides a simple, minimally invasive and reliable approach to the initial determination of the axillary LN status. Those who are US‐FNAC positive can be referred for axillary LN dissection without sentinel LN biopsy.     

Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer using ultrasound and fine needle aspiration cytology

Ultrasonography was performed on 37 patients with proven cancer of the pancreas. Three patients had lesions too small to be detectable, but, in the remainder, abnormalities were found in 30 (88%). Subsequently, percutaneous fine needle aspiration cytology was obtained in 12 patients with suspected pancreatic cancer, in whom ultrasound confirmed the presence of a mass. There were two false negative results and no false positive diagnosis. For seven patients laparotomy was avoided. Ultrasonography should be the first investigation in patients with suspected cancer of the pancreas, and, if a mass is detected, it should be aspirated percutaneously using a fine needle.     

Axillary staging using ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy in locally advanced breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Axillary lymph node status is important for staging and planning therapy prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancers (LABC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of axillary ultrasonography coupled with fine needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) to determine lymph node status prior to initiation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: Patients with a LABC, defined as a breast cancer clinically larger than 3.0 cm or a cytology positive axillary lymph node, were evaluated by clinical examination followed by ultrasonographic evaluation. Lymph nodes were categorized as suspicious for malignancy based on size >1.0 cm, decrease in the fatty hilum, or parenchymal echogenicity. US-FNAB was performed on all patients. Most patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by definitive surgery. Axillary surgery consisted of axillary lymph node dissection. Axillary status by clinical examination and US-FNAB was compared with that obtained by axillary node dissection. RESULTS: From January 1998 to May 2001, 26 patients (27 axillae) presented with LABC to our institution. The median age of these patients was 48 years. The sensitivity and specificity of US-FNAB for evaluating axillary metastatic disease in patients with LABC were 100% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with locally advanced breast cancer, axillary ultrasonography coupled with fine needle aspiration biopsy can accurately stage the axilla. It is particularly useful and should be used more frequently in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The use of ultrasonography to stage the axilla in patients who present with small breast cancers should be explored.     

支气管内超声引导针吸活检术在肺癌分期的应用

目的 接受EBUS-TBNA检查,其评价支气管内超声引导针吸活检术(endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration,EBUS-TBNA)在肺癌分期的应用价值.方法 2008年7月至2010年3月,128例肺癌患者中男102例,女26例,年龄37 -85岁,平均60.1岁.胸部CT或PET/CT影像学检查均提示肺癌并肺门或纵隔淋巴结肿大,未除外转移.回顾分析其临床影像学与内镜超声的表现及穿刺活检的结果.结果 128例内镜超声均可见肺门或纵隔多组肿大的淋巴结,短径6～16 mm,平均12.3 mm.成功穿刺189组淋巴结,过程顺利,无并发症发生.EBUS-TBNA准确率98.53％,灵敏度98.50％,特异度100％.结论EBUS-TBNA作为肺门及纵隔淋巴结活检的一种新手段,创伤小,并发症少,准确性高,在肺癌分期的应用安全、可行.     

Benign disease and unexpected histological findings after pancreaticoduodenectomy: the role of endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration

INTRODUCTION

We assessed the incidence and outcome of pancreaticoduodenectomy for patients with a pre-operative benign diagnosis and in patients who had an unexpected diagnosis of benign disease following resection. We have also compared how the introduction of endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has altered our pre-operative assessment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between January 1997 and April 2006, 499 patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Data were collected prospectively. A further 85 patients between 2006 and 2008 had a different diagnostic approach (after imaging these patients have been also studied by EUS-FNA).

RESULTS

Overall, 78 (15.6%) patients had no malignant disease on final histology. Out of 459 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for presumed malignancy, 49 (10.6%) had benign disease (sensitivity, 97%; positive predictive value, 89%). In a further 40 patients with a pre-operative benign diagnosis, we found 11 cases (27%) of malignancy (sensitivity, 37%; negative predictive value, 72%). Following the introduction of EUS-FNA, the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic work were 92% and 75%, respectively (positive predictive value, 93%; negative predictive value, 63%). The median follow-up was 35 months (range, 1–116 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Prior to the introduction of EUS-FNA, a significant number of patients, in whom pancreaticoduodenectomy is carried out for suspected benign disease, turn out to have an underlying malignancy. The use of EUS-FNA has improved the specificity of diagnostic work-up.     

Prospective evaluation of fine needle aspiration in the diagnosis of lung cancer.

The role of fine needle aspiration biopsy has been assessed prospectively in the diagnosis of discrete lung shadows. A questionnaire was completed before each of 100 biopsies (in 97 patients) to determine the clinician's pretest diagnosis and the likelihood of malignancy. The latter estimates were combined with the previously established sensitivity (71%) and specificity (100%) of the procedure for diagnosing malignancy in the unit to allow calculation in each case of the change in certainty of malignancy as a result of the investigation. Among the 100 biopsies there were 73 true positive and 13 true negative results. There were no false positive results but there were 14 false negatives (cases where malignancy was later proved but where the biopsy did not show unequivocal evidence of malignancy). Among the 27 negative biopsy results the clinician had estimated the likelihood of malignancy as 80% or more in 13 cases. In 11 of these 13 patients the eventual diagnosis proved to be a malignant tumour; on the other hand, six of the 10 patients given a less than 50% chance of malignancy had a benign outcome. A positive biopsy result was therefore quantitively of greatest value when the prior estimate of malignancy was low. In the case of the false negative results the prior probability of malignancy was usually sufficiently high to merit further investigation. It is estimated that the procedure led to the avoidance of thoracotomy in up to 14 of 97 patients.     

Transrectal ultrasound and fine needle aspiration for malacoplakia of the prostate

Clinically, malacoplakia of the prostate gland may mimic prostatic carcinoma. We report a case of prostatic malacoplakia in which transrectal ultrasound of the prostate was most compatible with carcinoma. However, fine needle aspiration cytology and biopsy revealed the classical histopathological features of malacoplakia so that a correct diagnosis could be made.     

Peroperative fine needle aspiration biopsy of lung tumors

The feasibility and reliability of peroperative fine needle aspiration biopsy of lung tumors were studied in a series of 54 patients. The postoperative histologic examination confirmed that 47 of the lesions were malignant. The cytologic examination also showed malignancy in 45 of these cases. The accuracy of fine needle cytology thus was 96%. In the two false negative reports the classification was Papanicolaou grades II and III. The cytologic classification of the histologically benign lesions was only grades I or II. Thus there were no false positive cytologic results. No complications arose from the needle biopsies. Peroperative fine needle aspiration biopsy at thoracotomy is rapid, simple and safe, and has a high degree of accuracy. It is diagnostically useful in cases without preoperative confirmation of suspected lung tumor if excisional biopsy is judged to be hazardous or unlikely to yield a definite diagnosis. The method permits the surgeon to assess the extent of a malignancy and can specify the cell type of the tumor.     

The value of mediastinal staging with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in patients with lung cancer

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic yield, the learning curve and the safety of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle biopsy (EBUS-TBNA) in mediastinal staging of patients with lung cancer. Methods: Mediastinal staging was performed with EBUS-TBNA according to the Danish national guidelines in patients fulfilling one or more of the following criteria: (1) central tumour; (2) enlarged (>10 mm) mediastinal lymph nodes on computed tomography; or (3) positron emission tomography (PET)-positive mediastinal lymph nodes. The study period began in January 2006 when EBUS-TBNA was introduced in the department and ended in December 2007. All records were reviewed retrospectively. None of the four examiners had any previous experience with EBUS-TBNA or ultrasound when the study began. All examinations were performed under general anaesthesia. Patients without useful cytological material from the EBUS-TBNA were subjected to a supplementary standard cervical mediastinoscopy if the mediastinal lymph nodes were found to be enlarged (>10 mm), PET positive or if the examiner was insecure of the result of the EBUS-TBNA. Patients with mediastinal lymph node involvement, detected by EBUS-TBNA or standard cervical mediastinoscopy, were referred to oncological treatment, while those without mediastinal lymph node involvement underwent – if they were otherwise eligible for surgery – resection and systematic lymph node sampling either by thoracotomy or by video-assisted thoracoscopy. Final mediastinal staging was defined as positive if mediastinal lymph node involvement was detected by EBUS-TBNA, standard cervical mediastinoscopy or surgery, or defined as negative otherwise. Results: A total of 157 patients were included in the study. N2/N3 disease was found in 67 patients (42.6%). EBUS-TBNA missed the mediastinal spread in 10 patients. Five of the ten patients had lymph node metastases in station 5, 6 or 8 – out of reach of EBUS-TBNA or standard cervical mediastinoscopy. EBUS-TBNA had a sensitivity of 0.85 (0.74–0.93) and a negative predictive value of 0.90 (0.82–0.95). No complications occurred from EBUS-TBNA. The number of supplementary standard cervical mediastinoscopies decreased significantly in the study period. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that staging of the mediastinum with EBUS-TBNA is safe and easy to learn – even without previous experience with ultrasound. The diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA is in accordance with the yield of standard cervical mediastinoscopy reported in the literature. We do not find any indications in the present study of the recommended necessity for mediastinoscopy in all EBUS-TBNA-negative patients.     

CT引导下经皮细针穿刺活检检测中晚期肺癌表皮生长因子受体基因突变

目的探讨CT引导下经皮细针穿刺活检在中晚期肺癌表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)基因突变检测中的应用价值。方法 228例不可手术切除的Ⅱ～Ⅳ期肺癌患者,采用18G或30GChiba针进行CT引导下经皮肺穿刺活检,获得标本进行病理学检测及PCR法EGFR基因突变分析。结果 117例穿刺采用18GChiba针,111例为20GChiba针。病理确诊腺癌184例、鳞癌14例、腺鳞癌3例、小细胞癌6例、未分化癌21例。穿刺术后8例(8/228,3.51%)发生气胸,30例(30/228,13.16%)出现针道少许渗血。218例(218/228,95.61%)穿刺取材标本成功进行基因突变检测,共检测到93例基因突变,其中EGFR 18、19、20、21外显子突变分别为2、52、3、36例。135例女性患者中70例(70/135,51.85%)发现突变,93例男性患者中23例(23/93,24.73%)发现突变。184例腺癌中,88例发生突变,3例腺鳞癌中2例突变,21例未分化癌中2例突变,14例鳞癌中1例突变,6例小细胞癌未检测到突变。结论 CT引导下经皮细针穿刺活检可作为中晚期肺癌EGFR基因检测的取材手段。     

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration for diagnosis of recurrent nonsmall cell lung cancer

Diagnosis of recurrent lung cancer by various imaging studies is often difficult because a recurrent tumor can resemble scar tissue or postoperative changes. This article reports how an endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration was used to obtain a tissue diagnosis of locoregional lung cancer recurrence, which changed the management of the patients.     

支气管内超声引导针吸活检术在肺癌分期中的应用

目的 探讨支气管内超声引导针吸活检术(EBUS-TBNA)在肺癌分期中的应用价值.方法 回顾性总结2009年9月至2010年2月,52例胸部CT均发现纵隔淋巴结肿大≥1.0 cm肺癌病人经EBUS-TBNA检查的临床资料.结果 经EBUS-TBNA检查证实纵隔淋巴结转移(阳性)者41例,未见纵隔淋巴结转移(阴性)者11例.阳性者放弃手术,予以化疗.阴性者接受胸腔镜或开胸手术,行肺叶切除或肺楔形切除加纵隔淋巴结清扫.术后病理证实,9例纵隔淋巴结确实末见转移,2例纵隔淋巴结可见癌转移,即EBUS-TBNA检查假阴性.EBUS-TBNA的敏感性、特异性、准确性、阳性预测价值及阴性预测价值分别为95.3%、100%、96.2%、100%及81.8%.该检查耐受良好,无任何相关并发症发生.结论 EBUS-TBNA是一种安全、有效的肺癌分期方法.

Abstract：

Objective To determine the value of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for staging of lung cancer. Methods The study was retrospective, a total of 52 patients underwent EBUSTBNA for known or suspected lung cancer. All patients were detected enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes on CT scan ( ≥ 1.0cm). Results Of the 52 patients, 41 patients were found with N2 or N3 disease on EBUS-TBNA. 11 patients with negative EBUS-TBNA underwent thoracoscopy or thoracotomy for pulmonary resection and mediastinal lymph node dissection, 9 patients were confirmed N0 by pathology, whereas 2 patients had metastatic lymph node. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of EBUS-TBNA for the mediastinal staging of lung cancer were 95.3%, 100%, 96.2%, 100%, and 81.8%, respectively. The procedure was uneventful, and there were no postoperative complications. Conclusion EBUS-TBNA is an effective and safe technique for mediastinal staging in lung cancer patients.     

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration in esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer has a poor prognosis since it is often diagnosed in the symptomatic and incurable state. Accurate staging at initial diagnosis is imperative as it determines prognosis and influences treatment. Computed tomography (CT) scan is sensitive for identifying metastatic disease but is insensitive for detecting the extent of wall involvement or nodal disease. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has emerged as a powerful tool in staging esophageal cancer with an impressive accuracy. Use of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration as an adjunct further improves accuracy in nodal staging and allows for histologic confirmation. The impact of this invaluable staging modality in the management of esophageal cancer continues to grow.     

Delayed pneumothorax after CT-guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration lung biopsy

Two patients are described who developed pneumothoraces more than 24 hours after computed tomography (CT) guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration lung biopsies. The pneumothoraces required treatment in both cases. Such delayed pneumothorax after lung biopsy is extremely unusual. Patients should be warned of the possible occurrence of this complication and instructed to seek medical help if they develop chest pain or breathlessness.