Novel Robotic-Assisted Cryobiopsy for Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Oncology
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Tissue acquisition is critical for lung cancer diagnosis and molecular testing.
• Failures in molecular testing are often due to insufficient tumor cells or poor tissue quality.
• Robotic bronchoscopy offers peripheral lung lesion sampling, but diagnostic yield can be limited by nodule location.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic yield of a 1.1-mm cryoprobe compared to standard needle aspiration and forceps biopsy.
• To assess the adequacy of molecular markers from cryoprobe samples.
• To compare tissue quantity and quality obtained by cryoprobe versus traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 112 patients with 120 peripheral pulmonary lesions.
• Biopsies performed using robotic bronchoscopy with needle aspirate, forceps, and cryobiopsy.
• Comparison of diagnostic yield and sample adequacy between techniques.

Main Results:

• Overall diagnostic yield was 90%.
• Cryobiopsy exclusively provided 18% of diagnoses.
• All cryobiopsy samples were adequate for molecular analysis, with improved quantity and quality.

Conclusions:

• The 1.1-mm cryoprobe with robotic bronchoscopy is safe and feasible for peripheral pulmonary lesion biopsy.
• Cryobiopsy provides superior tissue yield and quality compared to needle aspiration and forceps biopsy.
• This combination enhances diagnostic yield, particularly for extraluminal lesions adjacent to the airway.