Abstract
Introduction: CT screening may reduce LC mortality in high risk subjects but also find many masses with indeterminate features resulting in invasive procedures for benign lesions.
Aims: We hypothesize that trans-thoracic bioelectrical conductance measurements may discriminate benign from malignant CT-detected lesions.
Methods: 41 subjects with CT-detected masses and or lung cancer symptoms such as cough, hoarseness, dyspnea, hemoptysis, weight loss or recurrent respiratory infections enrolled. Prior to biopsy, measured 9 parameters at 62 sites were conducted with Bioconductance Scan Platform (BSP). For each subject a composite score from collected data was calculated and an optimal cut-point set to discriminate between the malignant and benign outcomes selected.
Results: 26 pathology-confirmed NSCLC, 2 SCLC, 1 carcinoid whereas 12 had a benign outcome based on pathology (9) or stable follow-up CT (3). BSP data for LC cases: 26 true positives, 3 false negatives (including the carcinoid), 90% sensitivity. For benign cases, the BSP resulted in 1 false positive,11 true negatives, 92% specificity. The overall ROC from BSP analysis was 91%.
Conclusion: BSP bioconductance measurements is associated strongly with a thoracic cancer or benignity. A technology that non-invasively provides adjunctive information to CT scanning to decide whether biopsy or further follow-up is appropriate will be an important clinical tool.
- © 2011 ERS