title: Lung cancer staging.
abstract: Accurate staging of lung cancer is essential for proper treatment and management of the disease, and allows predictions for patient survival. Several different invasive and noninvasive modalities exist for staging, and the determination of the best approach of one or a combination of those methods depends on the clinical situation and the clinician's assessment of the most appropriate means of staging evaluation. This review discusses the elements and framework of lung cancer staging, with particular emphasis on those newer modalities, especially positron emission tomography and endoscopic ultrasound needle biopsy, which will be expected to be used increasingly more common in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: Gerard A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Silvestri
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed