Robotic-assisted broncoscopy study

As lung cancer screening identifies an estimated 1.6 million suspicious lung nodules each year in the U.S. alone, physicians face a challenge. Most peripheral pulmonary lesions are benign, yet the malignant minority represent the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. A five-year, multisite study from Mayo Clinic suggests robotic-assisted bronchoscopy may provide a less invasive and more precise approach to diagnosing lung cancer. The study evaluated 2,115 lung lesions in 1,904 patients across Mayo Clinic campuses in Jacksonville; Phoenix; and Rochester, Minnesota, between 2019 and 2024. Researchers reported 85% sensitivity for malignancy and 76.9% accuracy, or a strict diagnostic yield, under newly standardized national criteria. They also reported a complication rate of 2.8%. Since adoption of robotic bronchoscopy, the proportion of lung cancers diagnosed at an early stage at Mayo Clinic increased from 46% in 2019 to nearly 69% by mid-2024. While lung cancer was caught earlier, diagnoses at advanced stages decreased from 54% to 31% in 2024. ____________________________________________ FOR THE PUBLIC: More health and medical news on the Mayo Clinic News Network. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/ FOR THE MEDIA ONLY: To access clean and NAT sound versions of this video on the Mayo Clinic News Network, register at https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/request-account/ Mayo Clinic: https://mayocl.in/3tNMAdF Like Mayo Clinic on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayoClinic Follow Mayo Clinic on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mayoclinic/ Follow Mayo Clinic on X, formerly Twitter: https://x.com/MayoClinic Follow Mayo Clinic on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mayoclinic