Use of Endobronchial Ultrasound and Endoscopic Ultrasound to Stage the Mediastinum in Early-Stage Lung Cancer

Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer, with more than 159,000 deaths and 220,000 newly diagnosed cases in 2011. Because treatment and survival are directly linked to disease stage, accurate staging in all patients is crucial. The proper staging of early-stage lung cancer involves investigation for the presence of metastatic spread via lymph nodes within the thorax. Initial steps include CT and PET. Mediastinoscopy has previously been considered the gold standard for mediastinal lymph node sampling; however, over the past 10 years the use of ultrasound-guided lymph node sampling has been shown to be at least as sensitive, and has the added advantage of being able to access significantly more stations. This article reviews the current standards of lung cancer staging in 2012.

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians and nurses involved in the management of patients with cancer.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the current strategies for staging of the mediastinum in early-stage lung cancer
  • Describe the role of EBUS-TBNA and EUS-FNA in the staging of lung cancer
Additional information
Supporters: 

No commercial support was received for this article.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 Participation
  • 1.00 Nurse
  • 1.00 Physician
Course opens: 
10/01/2012
Course expires: 
10/01/2013
Cost:
$0.00

Christopher Gilbert, DO
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

Lonny Yarmus, DO
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

David Feller-Kopman, MD
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

Available Credit

  • 1.00 Participation
  • 1.00 Nurse
  • 1.00 Physician

Price

Cost:
$0.00
Please login or register to take this course.