Navigational bronchoscopy shown to be safer at diagnosing lung cancer | News from St Bartholomew's

Navigational bronchoscopy is safer and more cost-effective when compared to traditional computerised tomography-guided (CT) biopsy, a new study from consultants at St Bartholomew’s Hospital has shown. 

Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is a medical procedure that uses electromagnetic technology to guide endoscopic tools along the bronchial pathways of the lung. 

This allows doctors to biopsy nodules safely to confirm whether they are cancerous or not before the patient undergoes surgery. 

Pulmonary nodules, or lung nodules, are small round growths that are found in the lung, most commonly during a CT scan, which has shown an area of abnormal tissue inside a patient’s body. 

Most are nothing to worry about, but some are early lung cancers and biopsying these nodules helps can help consultants ensure patients get the right treatment.

A study published in the BMJ Open Respiratory Research, led by consultants from Barts Thorax Centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, has revealed that ENB was found to be safer and more effective when compared with transthoracic needle aspiration.  

With the use of ENB, the biopsy forceps travel along the lung’s natural bronchial pathways there is much less chance of damaging the surrounding lung causing bleeding or the lining of the lung (pleura) causing an air leak (pneumothorax).

St Bartholomew’s Hospital was the first centre, and remains one of the very few in England, to utilise electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) technology to ensure that clinicians can provide diagnosis as quickly, accurately and safely as possible. 

Dr Will Ricketts, consultant chest physician at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, said: “It is fantastic that we have this technology available for the benefit of our patients, ensuring that we are able to diagnose their lung cancer by the safest means possible and this work has now shown it to be cost effective too.”

For further information about Barts Thorax Centre, visit their page on the Barts Health website.  

Read the research in full.