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ABSTRACT Objective: Lung cancer (LC) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Accurate mediastinal staging is mandatory in order to assess prognosis and to select patients for surgical treatment. EBUS-TBNA is a minimally invasive procedure that allows sampling of mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs). Some studies have suggested that EBUS-TBNA is preferable to surgical mediastinoscopy for mediastinal staging of LC. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy in terms of their effectiveness for mediastinal LN staging in potentially operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis, in which we searched various databases. We included studies comparing the accuracy of EBUS-TBNA with that of mediastinoscopy for mediastinal LN staging in patients with NSCLC. In the meta-analysis, we calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratios, and negative likelihood ratios. We also analyzed the risk difference for the reported complications associated with each procedure. Results: The search identified 4,201 articles, 5 of which (with a combined total of 532 patients) were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. There were no statistically significant differences between EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy in terms of the sensitivity (81% vs. 75%), specificity (100% for both), positive likelihood ratio (101.03 vs. 95.70), or negative likelihood ratio (0.21 vs. 0.23). The area under the summary ROC curve was 0.9881 and 0.9895 for EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy, respectively. Although the number of complications was higher for mediastinoscopy, the difference was not significant (risk difference: −0.03; 95% CI: −0.07 to 0.01; I2 = 76%). Conclusions: EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy produced similar results for mediastinal staging of NSCLC. EBUS-TBNA can be the procedure of first choice for LN staging in patients with NSCLC.

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the CT findings of multiple cavitary lung lesions that allow the differentiation between benign and malignant etiologies. Methods: We reviewed CT scans, including patients with two or more cavitary lung lesions. We evaluated the number of cavitary lesions, their location, cavity wall thickness, and additional findings, correlating the variables with the diagnosis of a benign or malignant lesion. Results: We reviewed the chest CT scans of 102 patients, 58 (56.9%) of whom were male. The average age was 50.5 ± 18.0 years. Benign and malignant lesions were diagnosed in 74 (72.6%) and 28 (27.4%) of the patients, respectively. On the CT scans, the mean number of cavities was 3, the mean wall thickness of the largest lesions was 6.0 mm, and the mean diameter of the largest lesions was 27.0 mm. The lesions were predominantly in the upper lobes, especially on the right (in 43.1%). In our comparison of the variables studied, a diagnosis of malignancy was not found to correlate significantly with the wall thickness of the largest cavity, lymph node enlargement, emphysema, consolidation, bronchiectasis, or bronchial obstruction. The presence of centrilobular nodules correlated significantly with the absence of malignant disease (p < 0.05). In contrast, a greater number of cavities correlated significantly with malignancy (p < 0.026). Conclusions: A larger number of cavitary lung lesions and the absence of centrilobular nodules may be characteristic of a malignant etiology. However, on the basis of our evaluation of the lesions in our sample, we cannot state that wall thickness is a good indicator of a benign or malignant etiology.

Objective: Lung cancer (LC) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Accurate mediastinal staging is mandatory in order to assess prognosis and to select patients for surgical treatment. EBUS-TBNA is a minimally invasive procedure that allows sampling of mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs). Some studies have suggested that EBUS-TBNA is preferable to surgical mediastinoscopy for mediastinal staging of LC. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy in terms of their effectiveness for mediastinal LN staging in potentially operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis, in which we searched various databases. We included studies comparing the accuracy of EBUS-TBNA with that of mediastinoscopy for mediastinal LN staging in patients with NSCLC. In the meta-analysis, we calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratios, and negative likelihood ratios. We also analyzed the risk difference for the reported complications associated with each procedure. Results: The search identified 4,201 articles, 5 of which (with a combined total of 532 patients) were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. There were no statistically significant differences between EBUSTBNA and mediastinoscopy in terms of the sensitivity (81% vs. 75%), specificity (100% for both), positive likelihood ratio (101.03 vs. 95.70), or negative likelihood ratio (0.21 vs. 0.23). The area under the summary ROC curve was 0.9881 and 0.9895 for EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy, respectively. Although the number of complications was higher for mediastinoscopy, the difference was not significant (risk difference: −0.03; 95% CI: −0.07 to 0.01; I2 = 76%). Conclusions: EBUS-TBNA and mediastinoscopy produced similar results for mediastinal staging of NSCLC. EBUS-TBNA can be the procedure of first choice for LN staging in patients with NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the CT findings of multiple cavitary lung lesions that allow the differentiation between benign and malignant etiologies. Methods: We reviewed CT scans, including patients with two or more cavitary lung lesions. We evaluated the number of cavitary lesions, their location, cavity wall thickness, and additional findings, correlating the variables with the diagnosis of a benign or malignant lesion. Results: We reviewed the chest CT scans of 102 patients, 58 (56.9%) of whom were male. The average age was 50.5 ± 18.0 years. Benign and malignant lesions were diagnosed in 74 (72.6%) and 28 (27.4%) of the patients, respectively. On the CT scans, the mean number of cavities was 3, the mean wall thickness of the largest lesions was 6.0 mm, and the mean diameter of the largest lesions was 27.0 mm. The lesions were predominantly in the upper lobes, especially on the right (in 43.1%). In our comparison of the variables studied, a diagnosis of malignancy was not found to correlate significantly with the wall thickness of the largest cavity, lymph node enlargement, emphysema, consolidation, bronchiectasis, or bronchial obstruction. The presence of centrilobular nodules correlated significantly with the absence of malignant disease (p < 0.05). In contrast, a greater number of cavities correlated significantly with malignancy (p < 0.026). Conclusions: A larger number of cavitary lung lesions and the absence of centrilobular nodules may be characteristic of a malignant etiology. However, on the basis of our evaluation of the lesions in our sample, we cannot state that wall thickness is a good indicator of a benign or malignant etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology / Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology / Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT Lung cancer is one of the most incident types of cancer and a leading cause of cancer mortality in Brazil. We reviewed the current status of lung cancer by searching relevant data on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the country. This review highlights several issues that need to be addressed, including smoking control, patient lack of awareness, late diagnosis, and disparities in the access to cancer health care facilities in Brazil. We propose strategies to help overcome these limitations and challenge health care providers, as well as the society and governmental representatives, to work together and to take a step forward in fighting lung cancer.