Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women
and is the second most common type in both. It generally has a poor prognosis, with 75
percent of patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage. The diagnostic tools typically
in use are insufficiently sensitive and do not allow for early disease detection. As a
result, finding alternative ways of early and accurate lung cancer diagnosis is critical
for successful management. CT imaging, sputum cytology, biopsy, and bronchoscopy
are examples of traditional procedures that have been adjusted over time to improve
sensitivity and accuracy. Lung biopsy is a reliable procedure performed to help define
the treatment strategy for patients with lung cancer. The use of computed tomography
(CT), EBUS, EUS and bronchoscopy allowed the collection of specimens for a greater
number of patients through minimally invasive procedures. The recent advances in
molecular technologies and analytic platforms have made it possible to investigate the
gene variations that contribute to tumorigenesis and become potential lung cancer
biomarkers. Furthermore, liquid biopsies tend to be a safe alternative to traditional
biopsies and can offer both accurate molecular data and a less invasive method of
evaluating tumor activity, which could further improve the clinical management of
lung cancer patients. This chapter provides an overview of the different traditional and
emerging diagnostic tools for lung cancer. We need to understand the characteristics of
these procedures that could have predictive, prognostic and therapeutic implications.
