The feasibility of NBI in patients with suspected upper airway lesions: A multicenter study

Assessing the Accuracy, Safety, and Tolerance of Office-Based Endoscopic Biopsies for Laryngopharyngeal Lesions

OBJECTIVE

The increasing prevalence of office-based biopsies (OBBs) for diagnosing laryngopharyngeal lesions underscores the need for a comprehensive evaluation of their clinical utility. This study aims to investigate the accuracy, safety, and tolerance of these procedures in an office setting.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 490 OBBs performed with distal chip, working channel endoscopes. Histologic accuracy was assessed by comparing OBB results with operating room biopsies or, for benign lesions, by monitoring endoscopic findings over time.

RESULTS

The majority of OBBs were taken primarily from the glottic larynx (52.4%), supraglottic larynx (17.3%), and base of tongue (14.5%). Procedural intolerance led to noncompletion in 4.1% of cases due to gag reflex (17 cases) and laryngospasm (3 cases); no serious complications were reported. OBBs guided management in 88.4% of cases. Histologically, 33.3% of cases were benign, 27.6% pre-malignant, 37.6% malignant, and 1.5% yielded inadequate specimens. Thirteen lesions (8.3%) initially identified as benign and 37 pre-malignant lesions (28.5%) were found to be malignant upon further biopsy. For invasive malignancies/severe dysplasia, OBBs showed a sensitivity of 89.4%, specificity of 95.8%, positive predictive value of 97.4%, negative predictive value of 83.4%, and accuracy of 91.7%.

CONCLUSION

Office-based biopsies of laryngopharyngeal lesions are safe, generally well-tolerated, and offer reliable diagnostic results in appropriate clinical settings. Severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ identified on OBB should prompt suspicion for invasive malignancy.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3

Diagnostic Accuracy Outcomes of Office-Based (Outpatient) Biopsies in patients with Laryngopharyngeal Lesions: A Systematic Review

Background

In‐office biopsies (IOB) using local anaesthetic for laryngopharyngeal tumours has become an increasingly popular approach since the advent of distal chip endoscopes. Although a wide range of studies advocate use in clinical practice, the widespread application of the procedure is hampered by concerns regarding diagnostic accuracy.

Objective

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of IOB performed via flexible endoscopy. In addition, to analyse modifiable factors that may affect diagnostic accuracy of IOB.

Design

A systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and CINAHL were used in the literature database search. Quality assessment of included studies was perfomed using the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale.

Results

A total of 875 studies were identified, 16 of which were included into the systematic review; 1572 successful biopsies were performed using flexible endoscopy; 1283 cases were accurately diagnosed in the outpatient setting (81.6%) and 289 samples did not provide an accurate diagnosis (18.4%). The median sensitivity of IOB was 73%, and the specificity was 96.7%. Analysis of variable factors did not show any significant differences in method of approach, size of equipment (forceps) and additional lighting system or learning curve.

Conclusion

IOB are a viable tool for diagnostic workup of laryngopharyngeal tumours. Clinicians should be wary of reported limitations of IOB when benign or pre‐malignant diagnoses are made. In cases suspicious of malignancy, confirmatory investigation should be conducted.

Usefulness of ultrasound for assessing the primary tumor of hypopharyngeal carcinoma

Objectives

To clarify the usefulness of ultrasonography for detecting hypopharyngeal cancer.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The study included 95 patients who underwent pre-treatment ultrasonography. We evaluated the usefulness of ultrasonography for detecting primary hypopharyngeal carcinoma of each T stage and subsite, and for assessing extrahypopharyngeal invasion. Additionally, we determined the efficacy of color Doppler for evaluating primary hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Results

The patients comprised 93 men and 2 women with a mean age of 67.5 years. The T stage (primary tumors) was T1 in 29 patients, T2 in 22, T3 in 9, and T4 in 35. Primary sites with a T stage over T3 were detected using ultrasonography in 17 patients.Regarding primary subsites, postcricoid tumors were assessed most easily (64%), while posterior wall tumors were the most difficult to assess (25%). In 15 of 17 patients, the evaluation of extrahypopharyngeal invasion by ultrasonography matched up precisely with computed tomography findings. In addition, abnormally increased blood flow in primary hypopharyngeal cancers was recognized by color Doppler, and could be used to predict subsites.

Conclusions

Cancers at T3 and T4 hypopharyngeal primary tumors and their extrahypopharyngeal invasion were detectable using ultrasonography. Furthermore, ultrasonography was useful for assessing postcricoid tumors that were difficult to observe by flexible laryngoscopy.

Level of Evidence

4.