Return to Research+Publications O.R. Detour: Ultrasound Procedure Provides Easier, Non-Surgical Lung Cancer Diagnosis "This is a perfect example of how physicians in different disciplines...can work collaboratively to better enable patients to make informed treatment decisions." - Dr. Kenneth Chang		Dr. Kenneth J. Chang
Unfortunately, the standard surgical procedures used to confirm lung cancer as inoperable are often as invasive and painful as surgery for operable lung cancer. But now, a procedure used at UCI Medical Center that does not require an incision not only confirms lung cancer but also spares the patient from unnecessary surgery. Dr. Kenneth Chang, head of Gastrointestinal Oncology at UCI Medical Center, along with colleague Dr. Phuong Nguyen, uses Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) on lung cancer patients to reveal valuable information on the center of the chest, surgically difficult to reach due to the placement of the rib cage and vital cardiac arteries. Using a slender, tubular endoscope running down the patient's throat, Chang can perform an ultrasound to reveal valuable information on tumors or suspicious masses. "Using this technique, we're able to confirm that the cancer has progressed to an inoperable point, so there would be no need for the patient to undergo invasive surgery or continue a debilitating treatment," says Chang. "This is a perfect example of how physicians in different disciplines – in this case, gastroenterology, pulmonology and thoracic surgery -- can work collaboratively to better enable patients to make informed treatment decisions." To confirm an uncertain or questionable cancer diagnosis, Chang uses fine-needle aspiration, or FNA, under the guidance of EUS. A needle inserted down the endoscope is able to easily access the tumor or suspicious tissue and take a sample, which can be immediately analyzed. The entire EUS or EUS-guided FNA procedure takes little more than an hour. Post-procedural discomfort is minimal, compared to days or even weeks of recuperation for invasive surgery. "For many cancer patients who may be weakened in body or spirit by chemotherapy, radiation or previous surgeries, preserving the quality of their life is vitally important," says Chang. "This technique can spare them from further debilitation, and for others -- those with questionable cancer diagnoses -- this can mean an even bigger difference." Conventional vs. Cutting-edge Goal: Detect and biopsy lymph nodes to determine cancer development stage or confirm cancer diagnosis Surgery with Incisions (large or small) Endoscopic Ultrasound Patient must receive general anesthesia. Patient is sedated but conscious. Procedure takes 1-4 hours Procedure takes 1 hour or less No biopsy results for up to 3 days Biopsy results available immediately Days or weeks of recovery time Only a few hours of recovery time

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