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Pathological Diagnosis

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Malignant Tumors of the Lung

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death related to cancer in the developed countries. Therapeutic modalities and prognosis depend on accurate diagnosis of the tumour (mainly on the distinction between small and non-small cell lung cancer, SCLC and NSCLC) and on the locoregional and distant extension (staging of the tumour). Usually, a diagnosis is obtained from samplings originating from the tumour itself or through the analysis of cytological samples obtained from the sputum. The samplings can also be obtained during bronchoscopy or after percutaneous needle aspiration or surgical resection (thoracotomy with lobectomy or pneumonectomy, or wedge resection during thoracoscopy). In some circumstances, diagnosis may also be reached through samplings of metastatic lymph nodes, mainly at the level of the mediastinum or in the supraclavicular or cervical area, or through biopsies of distant malignant extension of the tumour, e.g. at the bone or liver level,or through samplings confirming pleural involvement.

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  1. V. Ninane
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Médicine, Institut Jules Bordet, 1, rue Héger-Bordet, 1000, Bruxelles, Belgium

    Jean-Paul Sculier M.D., Ph.D.

  2. 1111 Sunset Road, Winnetka, IL, 60093, USA

    Willard A. Fry M.D.

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Ninane, V. (2004). Pathological Diagnosis. In: Sculier, JP., Fry, W.A. (eds) Malignant Tumors of the Lung. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18698-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18698-1_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62253-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-18698-1

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