Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases

The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (대한결핵및호흡기학회)
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Problems in the Pathologic Diagnosis of Suspected Lung Cancer

  • Soo Han Kim (Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine) ;
  • Mi-Hyun Kim (Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine) ;
  • Min Ki Lee (Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine) ;
  • Jung Seop Eom (Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine)
  • Received : 2022.10.24
  • Accepted : 2023.05.12
  • Published : 2023.07.31
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Abstract

Since the introduction of low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for patients at high risk of lung cancer, the detection rate of suspicious lung cancer has increased. In addition, there have been many advances in therapeutics targeting oncogenic drivers in non-small cell lung cancer. Therefore, accurate pathological diagnosis of lung cancer, including molecular diagnosis, is increasingly important. This review examines the problems in the pathological diagnosis of suspected lung cancer. For successful pathological diagnosis of lung cancer, clinicians should determine the appropriate modality of the diagnostic procedure, considering individual patient characteristics, CT findings, and the possibility of complications. Furthermore, clinicians should make efforts to obtain a sufficient amount of tissue sample using non- or less-invasive procedures for pathological diagnosis and biomarker analysis.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a clinical research grant from Pusan National University Hospital in 2023 and also by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science and ICT) (NRF-2022R1F1A1074117).

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