Is it necessary to sample the contralateral nodal stations by EBUS-TBNA in patients with lung cancer and clinical N0 / N1 on PET-CT?

In patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accurate mediastinal lymph node of staging becomes crucial to determine the prognosis of the disease and the choice of treatment (1). Computerized tomography (CT) and Positron Emission Tomography CT (PET/CT) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) are usually the initial non-invasive staging techniques, followed by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), a minimally invasive procedure with great diagnostic accuracy (2).
Source: Lung Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research