[Bronchoscopic diagnosis of lung cancer in early stage]

Early lung cancer has been classified into peripheral and hilar types. The peripheral type early lung cancer is the tumor size of under 2 cm with N0, M0, and many cases are detected with Chest X-ray findings. The bronchofiberscopic curettage is performed for its definitive diagnosis. The hilar type early lung cancer is limited within the bronchial wall, and its X-ray findings are normal in most cases. Usually the detection is made with bloody sputum or sputum cytology, and its definitive diagnosis is obtained with the bronchofiberscopic biopsy under direct visualization. In the case with no irregular endoscopic findings in spite of the positive result in sputum cytology its localization can be obtained with special methods such as selective bronchoalveolar lavage, image processing or laser irradiation.