Analysis of CT-occult lung cancer diagnosed by bronchoscopy / 中华肿瘤杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the clinicopathological and bronchoscopic characteristics of CT-occult lung cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 11 patients who were diagnosed with CT-occult lung cancer by bronchoscopy were analyzed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Seven out of eleven patients had bloody sputum. The median disease course was 3 months. Nine patients were in stage I or II, among them 5 cases underwent surgery, with a 5-year survival rate of 80.0%. The upper lobes were predilection areas, and all of the 11 patients had direct sign by bronchoscopy. The most common histopathology was squamous cell carcinoma, which had proliferative changes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Patients with symptoms of persistent bloody sputum should undergo a bronchoscopy to make sure whether there is an occult lung cancer or not, even if the chest CT scan is negative at first visit.</p>