[How can the anatomic mediastinal extension of the tumor be estimated? Endoscopic evaluation]

Tracheobronchial endoscopy is more particularly designed for the exploration of endotracheal and bronchial lesions. However, involvements of the mediastinum can be suggested or demonstrated on the basis of generally indirect signs. The most classical example is the paralysis of the left vocal chord, which expresses a para- or subaortic mediastinal extension. Tracheobronchial endoscopy has an interesting but not determining role in the appreciation of the mediastinal extension of non-small-cell bronchial cancers. It most often allows guiding complementary radiological examinations, and sometimes provides histological evidence of mediastinal extension. In some cases, esophageal endoscopy can demonstrate mediastinal extension, if a tracheoesophageal tumor is discovered.