Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in intrathoracic lymphadenopathy with extrathoracic malignancy

BACKGROUND

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for the diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymph is poorly studied in patients with extrathoracic malignancies.

AIM

To evaluate the value of EBUS-TBNA for the diagnosis of enlarged intrathoracic lymph nodes in patients with extrathoracic malignancies.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of patients with extrathoracic malignancies who were referred to Peking University Cancer Hospital from January 2013 to December 2018 for EBUS-TBNA due to intrathoracic lymphadenopathy. The specimens were defined as positive for malignancy, negative for non-malignancy (tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, etc.), and without a definitive diagnosis. Sensitivity, negative predictive value (NPV) for malignancy, and overall accuracy were calculated. Complications were recorded.

RESULTS

A total of 80 patients underwent EBUS-TBNA and had a final diagnosis, among which 50 (62.5%) were diagnosed with extrathoracic malignancy with intrathoracic lymph nodes metastasis, 14 (17.5%) were diagnosed with primary lung cancer with nodal involvement, and 16 (20.0%) exhibited benign behavior including tuberculosis, sarcoidosis and reactive lymphadenitis or who had benign follow-up. The diagnostic sensitivity, NPV, and accuracy of EBUS-TBNA for intrathoracic lymphadenopathy in patients with extrathoracic malignancy were 93.8% (n = 60/64), 80.0% (n = 16/20), and 95.0% (n = 76/80), respectively. In the multivariate analysis, longer short axis of the lymph node (OR: 1.200, 95%CI: 1.024-1.407; P = 0.024) and synchronous lung lesion (OR: 19.449, 95%CI: 1.875-201.753; P = 0.013) were independently associated with malignant intrathoracic lymphadenopathy. No characteristics of the lymph nodes and EBUS-TBNA were associated with the location of malignant intrathoracic lymphadenopathy, and no major complication was observed.

CONCLUSION

EBUS-TBNA is a simple and accurate procedure for the diagnosis of intrathoracic lymphadenopathy with extrathoracic malignancy.

EBUS-TBNA in Extrathoracic Malignancies: Diagnostic and Prognostic Implications

PURPOSE

In patients with extrathoracic malignancies (EM) the role of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for the assessment of abnormal mediastinal lymph nodes (MLN) is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic yield and prognostic significance of EBUS-TBNA in these patients.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of patients with EM and abnormal MLN detected by Computed Tomography (CT) and/or Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

RESULTS

A total of 161 patients with EM and abnormal MLN were included (93 males, 58%). The most common EM was melanoma (19%) and gastrointestinal cancer (17%). Assessed lymph nodes were mediastinal in 70% of cases and hilar in 30%. The most frequently sampled lymph nodes were subcarinal (45%) and lower right paratracheal (21%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of EBUS-TBNA for the diagnosis of malignancy were 88%, 100%, 100% and 87%, respectively. These values were similar regardless the type of EM except for head and neck tumors where the NPV was particularly low (67%). The diagnosis of neoplastic involvement by EBUS-TBNA implied a worse prognosis in terms of overall survival (p < 0.02) and cancer-specific survival (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with EM and abnormal MLN, EBUS-TBNA has a high diagnostic yield. However, the NPV decrease in patients with head and neck tumors. Neoplastic MLN detected by EBUS-TBNA has prognostic implications in these patients.

Diagnostic of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in extrathoracic cancer: A place for EBUS-TBNA in real life practice?

INTRODUCTION

Mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with extrathoracic malignancy is common. To obtain tissue proof of metastatic spread, EBUS-TBNA is an alternative to mediastinoscopy or thoracoscopy, but there are limited data about its diagnostic performance. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA for the evaluation of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with extrathoracic cancers.

METHODS

We performed a multicenter retrospective study based on an online questionnaire to collect data from January 2011 to December 2012 in all patients with proven extrathoracic malignancy (current or past) and suspected mediastinal lymph node metastases who underwent EBUS-TBNA for diagnosis.

RESULTS

Hundred and eighty-five patients were included. Extrathoracic malignancies observed were urological (43), breast (35), gastrointestinal (33), head and neck (30), melanoma (11), lymphoma (6), and others (27). EBUS-TBNA confirmed malignancy in 93 patients (50.3%): concordant metastases in 67 (36.2%); new lung cancer in 25 (13.5%); and 1 unidentified cancer. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value were respectively 54.6%, 68.4%, 100%, 53.3%, and 100%.

CONCLUSION

Mediastinoscopy remain the reference, but EBUS-TBNA may be considered as first line investigation in patients with suspected mediastinal lymph node metastases and extrathoracic malignancy. It prevented a surgical procedure in 50.3% of patients.

The role of endobronchial ultrasonography for mediastinal lymphadenopathy in cases with extrathoracic malignancy

INTRODUCTION

Many extrathoracic malignancies can metastasize to lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes. Whether mediastinal lesions are metastasis in these patients changes staging, prognosis, and treatment strategy. In this study, we aimed to find out the contribution of EBUS-TBNA to the diagnosis in cases with extrathoracic malignancy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients who had been previously diagnosed as extrapulmonary solid organ malignancy and in whom mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy developed during their follow-up and EBUS-TBNA was applied for diagnostic purposes were retrospectively included in this study.

RESULTS

A total of 91 patients consisting of 35 females (38.5 %) and 56 males (61.5 %) were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 60.5 (±11.4). Malignancy was not observed in 54 (59.3 %) patients; primary malignancy metastasis was detected in 33 (36.3 %) patients, and primary lung cancer was detected in 4 (4.4 %) patients with EBUS-TBNA. The sensitivity of EBUS-TBNA in extrathoracic malignancies was determined as 90.2 %; its specificity was determined as 100 %, its negative predictive value as 92.5 %, its positive predictive value as 100 %, and its diagnostic accuracy as 95.6 %. The highest rate was determined in the left lower paratracheal lymph node when they were examined in terms of malignancy detection rate in lymph node stations.

CONCLUSION

EBUS-TBNA is a minimally invasive method with quite a low complication rate that does not require general anesthesia. It should be the first step method to be used in the diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathies seen in extrathoracic malignancies since it has high diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. EBUS-TBNA significantly reduces the need for surgical intervention. Further surgical interventions can be planned in patients in whom diagnostic competence is not ensured.

Negative Predictive Value of Granulomas on EBUS-TBNA in Suspected Extrathoracic Malignancy

PURPOSE

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a well-established diagnostic tool for lung cancer, sarcoidosis, and suspected metastatic extrathoracic malignancy. EBUS-TBNA carries a high diagnostic yield, but its negative predictive value (NPV) requires further clarification.

METHODS

We reviewed EBUS-TBNA at our cancer center from 2008 to 2015. We identified negative diagnostic samples for adenopathy suspected to represent metastatic disease from extrathoracic malignancy.

RESULTS

We reviewed 529 EBUS-TBNAs. Ninety patients underwent EBUS-TBNA sampling of the hilum and/or mediastinum (121 nodes, 14 masses) for suspected extrathoracic malignancy. Thirty-seven patients had negative samples (lymph node, granulomas or non-diagnostic specimens). The overall NPV was 98 %. Granulomas (11 patients, 25 nodes) seen on histology had a 100 % NPV, including those that were FDG-PET (fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography) avid (n = 14 nodes).

CONCLUSION

Negative EBUS-TBNA in patients with extrathoracic malignancy and suspected secondary hilar or mediastinal metastases can infer a high NPV especially if granulomas are seen on histology. Larger prospective investigations are needed to confirm the high NPV of EBUS-TBNA with granulomas in extrathoracic malignancies.

[Diagnostic performance of EBUS-TBNA in patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy and extrathoracic malignancy]

INTRODUCTION

There is limited data about the diagnostic performance of EBUS-TBNA in patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy and extrathoracic malignancy.

METHODS

From January 2007 to July 2011, EBUS-TBNA was performed in 68 patients with a history of extrathoracic malignancy (current or past) and suspected mediastinal lymph node metastases.

RESULTS

Thirty-one patients had a final diagnosis of cancer. In nineteen patients, the same histology was identified in the mediastinal nodes as in their prior extrathoracic cancer (colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer and lymphoma). In 12, the diagnosis was not "as expected" (ten lung cancers, one colorectal cancer, one unidentified cancer). Among 37 patients without diagnosis, biopsies in 27 showed normal lymphoid material, two had non-specific inflammation and eight had no contributory results. It was noted that procedures were reported to have been more difficult in these patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Diagnostic performance of EBUS-TBNA in the context of extrathoracic malignancy is very variable depending on the origin of the cancer. Nevertheless, a diagnosis is concluded in almost 50% of the cases. These results underline the necessity to select carefully the indications of EBUS-TBNA in extrathoracic cancer.