Description:

Lung cancer is a prevalent cause of cancer-related mortality on a global scale. Appropriate staging of lung cancer is of paramount importance, as it customizes treatment and predicts prognosis. Fludeoxyglucose-18 (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) combined with low dose contrast computed tomography (CT) and endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) are two diagnostic modalities widely used in the field of staging & diagnosis of lung malignancies, the former depends on image analysis while the later enables real-time sampling of lymph nodes under sonographic guidance with concurrent cytological examination. The present research aims to compare the diagnostic and staging accuracies of (EBUS-TBNA) versus FDG-PET /CT as two diagnostic modalities in patients with suspected lung malignancies. However as a secondary outcome this study aims at monitoring the possible complications arising post EBUS-TBNA procedure.