Bronchoscopy hikes lung cancer detection

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- German medical scientists say they have determined narrow-band imaging bronchoscopies increase the specificity of bronchoscopic early lung cancer detection.

Bronchoscopy is a technique of visualizing the inside of the trachea using a bronchoscope for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, Wikipedia said. The bronchoscope inserted into the airway can be either a rigid metal tube with attached lighting devices or a flexible fiber-optic tube with real-time video equipment.

The researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany said bronchoscopic technologies utilizing white light, auto-fluorescence or narrow-band imaging have been developed to enhance the ability to diagnoses such lung cancer cells. Narrow-band imaging is the newest of the technologies.

Dr. Felix Herth and colleagues conducted a 10-month review of patients in need of airway screening and surveillance. Of 57 patients, researchers found those observed with narrow band imaging and auto-fluorescence imaging experienced significantly superior sensitivities compared to white light imaging alone. Narrow-band imaging also proved to provide high levels of specificity compared to auto-fluorescence imaging.

"This research shows that when diagnosing early stage lung cancer, using (narrow band imaging) may be a better option … because it increases specificity without compromising sensitivity," Herth said. "Continued research on these detection methods is necessary to further understand the best, most accurate ways to increase early diagnosis in lung cancer."

The study appears in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.