Navigational Bronchoscopy or Transthoracic Needle Biopsy for Lung Nodules.

  • Lentz RJ, Frederick-Dyer K, Planz VB, Koyama T, Aboudara MC, Avasarala SK, Casey JD, Cheng GZ, D'Haese PF, Duke JD, Grogan EL, Hoopman TC, Johnson J, Katsis JM, Kurman JS, Low SW, Mahmood K, Rickman OB, Roller L, Salmon C, Shojaee S, Swanner B, Wahidi MM, Walston C, Silvestri GA, Yarmus L, Rahman NM, Maldonado F. Navigational Bronchoscopy or Transthoracic Needle Biopsy for Lung Nodules. The New England journal of medicine. 2025 Jun 5;392(392). 2100-2112. PMID: 40387025 [PubMed]

Abstract

Each year, millions of pulmonary nodules are identified incidentally or through lung cancer screening, and many involve biopsy to distinguish cancer from benign processes. Both navigational bronchoscopy and computed tomography-guided transthoracic needle biopsy are commonly used in patients undergoing biopsies of peripheral pulmonary nodules, but the relative diagnostic accuracy of these two approaches is unclear.