Transbronchial biopsy smear for diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary carcinomas

Abstract

So that peripheral pulmonary carcinomas could be diagnosed, “transbronchial biopsy” was devised in 1953 and has been applied to 338 cases including 158 cases of primary carcinoma. The biopsy was performed with a specially designed curet introduced directly into the lesion under fluoroscopy through a Métras' bronchial catheter. Biopsy smears were prepared and examined cytologically. By this method, accuracy of making positive diagnosis on peripheral primary carcinomas was 81.6%. Particularly, tumors smaller than 2 cm could be diagnosed with an accuracy of 92.8%. Small metastatic lesions also could be diagnosed if tumors were exposed to the bronchial lumen. With a sufficient biopsy, the false positives could be reduced to a minimum. Prediction of histologic types of tumors presumed from cell types had an over‐all accuracy of 86.5%. The authors conclude that this method, not accompanied by any serious complications, is the most reliable for diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary carcinomas. Copyright © 1967 American Cancer Society