Cytological findings of pre-invasive bronchial lesions detected by light-induced fluorescence endoscopy in a lung cancer screening system.

Lung cancer is a global epidemic and the number one cause of death among all cancers, with a very high morbidity. A new strategy for the treatment of lung cancer is the detection and eradication of pre-invasive bronchial lesions before they become invasive carcinomas. We conducted a detailed investigation into the use of fluorescence bronchoscopy in the detection of pre-invasive bronchial lesions in patients with sputum cytology suspicious or positive for malignancy.