Introduction: Lung cancer is responsible for most cancer deaths in the world. The main reason for the poor prognosis is late diagnosis. Many patients could be successfully treated in early stage.
Aims: The authors performed 369 bronchological examination on 336 patients using autofluorescence bronchoscopy between 1998 and 2003 to detect preinvasive lesions and early forms of lung cancer.
Methods: Storz D-Light autofluorescence system has been used to perform the examinations.
Results: In one third of these patients invasive lung cancer developed during follow-up. Combining traditional white light and autofluorescence technique 50% more intraepithelial lesions have been observed and sensitivity has been increased by 69% compared to the lone use of white light bronchoscopy.
Conclusions: Supported by most international studies these results emphasise that autofluorescence bronchoscopy has a major role in the early diagnosis of preinvasive bronchial lesions and may help in the prevention and early therapy of lung cancer.