Prognostic factors in patients with terminal stage lung cancer.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death.(1) Accurate prediction of survival in the terminal stage is important, because it may help patients make a rational decision. Although several prognostic scores have been described as effective indicators of outcome, these scores were intended for patients with other types of cancers.

[Endobronchial ultrasonic-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for lung cancer diagnosis].

Background: Although bronchoscopy has an important role in the diagnosis of lung cancer, more invasive procedures, such as CT-guided biopsy or surgery, are needed when transbronchial approaches fail.

Objective: We investigated the usefulness of endobronchial ultrasonic-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for lung cancer diagnosis.

Subjects And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 122 cases who were finally diagnosed to have lung cancer from among 388 cases who underwent bronchoscopy because of abnormal shadows on their chest X-ray or CT.