Biomarkers in Pulmonary Nodule Diagnosis: Is It Time to Put Away the Biopsy Needle?

[摘要] Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with high mortality largely attributed to its diagnosis late in the disease process when cure is not possible.¹ The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) brought hope that screening high-risk patients with a yearly chest low-dose CT scan could lead to a 20% relative risk reduction in lung cancer deaths.² This decrease in mortality was paralleled by an increase in the diagnosis of stage I non-small cell lung cancer, implying that this screening paradigm leads to decreased mortality by shifting the stage at diagnosis to an earlier, curative stage.

[学科分类] 呼吸医学