A less-invasive method to determine the state of non-small-cell lung cancer may spare patients the need for general anesthesia and surgery, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Currently accepted guidelines dictate that staging of non-small-cell lung cancer is done either by an ultrasound of the internal organs called endosonography or a surgical diagnostic procedure called mediastinosocopy. The new study found physicians should start with the endosonography, as patients with cancer may not need the surgical procedure if the endosonography detects cancer first.
Patients who only need endosonography to detect cancer can forego general anesthesia as well as surgery, decreasing the risk of complications that could arise from either.
The researchers evaluated 241 lung cancer patients, assigning 118 to surgical staging and 123 to ultrasound. Sixty-five patients in the ultrasound group also underwent surgical staging because the ultrasound was negative, meaning surgery was necessary to be sure of the diagnosis. If the ultrasound was performed before the staging, the researchers found a 94 percent probability that the person with cancer would be identified correctly.
Read the JAMA report on endosonography.
Read more on anesthesia:
-4 Ways Anesthesia Provision Will Change in the Next Five Years
-4 Approaches to Effective ASC-Anesthesiologist Relationships
Currently accepted guidelines dictate that staging of non-small-cell lung cancer is done either by an ultrasound of the internal organs called endosonography or a surgical diagnostic procedure called mediastinosocopy. The new study found physicians should start with the endosonography, as patients with cancer may not need the surgical procedure if the endosonography detects cancer first.
Patients who only need endosonography to detect cancer can forego general anesthesia as well as surgery, decreasing the risk of complications that could arise from either.
The researchers evaluated 241 lung cancer patients, assigning 118 to surgical staging and 123 to ultrasound. Sixty-five patients in the ultrasound group also underwent surgical staging because the ultrasound was negative, meaning surgery was necessary to be sure of the diagnosis. If the ultrasound was performed before the staging, the researchers found a 94 percent probability that the person with cancer would be identified correctly.
Read the JAMA report on endosonography.
Read more on anesthesia:
-4 Ways Anesthesia Provision Will Change in the Next Five Years
-4 Approaches to Effective ASC-Anesthesiologist Relationships