Abstract
Objective. As endoscopic treatment is extensively employed to treat central type early-stage lung cancers, the ability to detect such lesions is becoming more important. However, diagnosing flat type lesions using conventional bronchoscopy is difficult in cases involving subtle mucosal changes. Therefore, improving the rate of detection of intraepithelial lesions is clinically desirable. Methods. The clinical usefulness of autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB) was evaluated by reviewing previous reports and the authors' experience. Results. There were no significant differences in the sensitivity of detecting invasive cancers between conventional bronchoscopy and AFB. However, AFB demonstrated higher sensitivity in cases of early cancer and atypical squamous cell lesions, which may contribute to improving the diagnosis. Mucosal invasion was clearly observed on AFB, which may provide useful support for endoscopic treatment. Conclusions. The combined use of conventional bronchoscopy and AFB is recommended for diagnosing and treating central type early-stage lung cancer.
