A new diagnostic technique. It’s called EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound)

A fairly new diagnostic technique is allowing lung cancer to be staged more accurately than a few years ago. What this means is you have better information to begin with the best plan of action and, ultimately, get best possible outcomes. It’s called EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound), and what brings it up a level from previous procedures is it enables visualization of lymph nodes beyond the airways. Not only can doctors visualize your lung and surrounding tissues, but they can do it without invasive surgical procedures they have had to rely on before.
Exactly what is EBUS and how is it done?
It’s a quick, relatively pain-free outpatient procedure performed during a bronchoscopy. This involves inserting a tube through your mouth or nose into the large airways leading to the lungs. Then an ultrasound probe (part of the bronchoscope) is used to visualize surrounding areas, including the lungs and mediastinum (chest area between the lungs). If something is seen warranting a closer look, your doctor will take a sample of tissue with a small needle guided by the ultrasound and send it to a lab for further evaluation.
“Because we can get to previously hard-to-reach places, and with minimal intervention, we can better understand the stage of lung cancer, if, and where it has spread. We can often avoid unnecessary interventions that require recovery time before moving to the next step,” says David Finley, MD, a thoracic surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
“What we can do with EBUS is significant because PET scans can produce false positives, as inflammation in the lymph nodes that is not cancer will light up on the scan. Conversely, up to 15 percent of PET scans and 30 percent of CT scans produce false negatives for lymph node involvement in the mediastinum and hilum,” says Dr. Finley.
Benefits
Beyond that it yields more accurate information, patients may be spared unnecessary surgeries, and there is less risk than with exploratory procedures. Less tissue is taken; there are no incisions and no scars.
What does EBUS mean for patients moving forward?
“We know exactly what treatments are indicated and which are not. It is not uncommon for patients who have been told they have no or very limited options because the disease is advanced to learn their cancer is only stage 1 or 2. We find out they are actually candidates for surgery. For people who are not surgical candidates, if we discover there is no node involvement we might be able to use radiation therapy to treat the tumor in the lungs.”
EBUS has something to offer late-stage patients too.
“Patients who are stage 4 will not have to endure treatments that won’t help. We do not say there are no options, but we have the knowledge to move on to the most appropriate individual plan, whether that be palliative radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination to alleviate pain, improve survival and quality of life,” says Dr. Finley.
Just what will EBUS tell my doctor?

• Whether tumors or enlarged nodes seen on CT scan are malignant or benign
• Help diagnose (stage) tumors within the lung or mediastinum or hilum
• Help diagnose (stage) lymph nodes in the mediastinum

“In the last 10 years, imaging has significantly changed our ability to stage. Now the question is to confirm what the imaging tells us. And EBUS has been the next step forward to pathologically confirm what we see,” says Dr. Finley. “Better staging typically means the best possible outcome.”
To learn about clinical trials for EBUS:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01467635

I found this at: http://www.1uponcancer.com/lung/

-I don't know if this would apply for mom or help much, but I will bring it up to Doctor as something interesting.

-Vanessa