Prevalence of Lung Cancer Today
Lung cancer stands as the second most common cancer worldwide, with around 2.2 million new cases each year. Its grim five-year survival rate, which falls below 20%, makes it the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, claiming 1.8 million lives annually. A significant factor contributing to this low survival rate is that only 16% of lung cancer cases are detected at an early stage, where the five-year survival rate jumps to 56%. Unfortunately, most diagnoses are made at advanced stages, where survival rates plummet to just 5%, with over half of those diagnosed passing away within a year.¹
Challenges with Semi-Solid Nodules
A key challenge in diagnosing lung cancer has been obtaining enough tissue from suspicious lesions through diagnostic bronchoscopy. This difficulty is compounded by the inability of bronchoscopists to visualize lesions in real-time or confirm tool placement during lung nodule biopsies. This issue is especially problematic with semi-solid and non-solid lesions, like ground glass opacities (GGOs), which lack density and are often invisible with traditional 2D fluoroscopy or even on standard tomographic scans.
Semi-solid nodules are found in about 9% of patients who undergo routine CT lung cancer screening. Although these nodules tend to grow and spread more slowly, early detection is crucial due to their higher risk of malignancy compared to solid lesions, with the cancer incidence in GGOs reaching up to 63%. Therefore, having real-time imaging technology that can visualize these semi-solid lesions, such as GGOs, is vital during lung nodule biopsies to improve the chances of obtaining sufficient tissue for a definitive diagnosis.
LungVision stands out as the only advanced navigation system that doesn't rely on preoperative CT scans. Instead, it uses data from a conventional C-arm spin to update the lesion's location in real-time during procedures. Additionally, LungVision’s AI Tomography imaging technology allows bronchoscopists to see GGOs during surgery, enabling them to confidently biopsy these semi-solid and non-solid pulmonary nodules.
GGO Lesion Imaging Library
8.5mm RUL semi-solid, cavitary nodule
LUL GGO
LUL semi-solid lesion of -700 Hounsfield units (HU)
The LungVision™ Solution: Enhancing Visualization of Semi-Solid Lesions
Harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to convert X-ray images from any C-arm into real-time intraoperative CT scans, LungVision enables bronchoscopists to clearly see the lesion and pinpoint its exact location during diagnostic bronchoscopy. Offering image-guided navigation and visual confirmation of the tool-in-lesion both before and during biopsy, this cutting-edge approach improves the chances of early lung cancer diagnosis when treatment options are more varied and survival rates are higher.
References
Association, A. L. (n.d.). Lung Cancer Trends Brief | American Lung Association. Home | American Lung Association. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-cancer/resource-library/lung-cancer-fact-sheet#:~:text=The%20lung%20cancer%20five%2Dyear,and%20prostate%20(98.2%20percent)
Hammer, M. (2020, September 4). Subsolid pulmonary nodules: Controversy and perspective - PMC. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7481135/
Migliore, M., Fornito, M., Criscione, A., Borrata, F., & Vigneri, P. (2018, March). Ground glass opacities management in the lung cancer screening era - PMC. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5890046/
Pulmonary Ground-Glass Opacity (GGO) Lesions–Large Size and a History of Lung Cancer are Risk Factors for Growth - ScienceDirect. (n.d.). ScienceDirect.Com | Science, Health and Medical Journals, Full Text Articles and Books. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1556086415321079
Source: https://bodyvisionmedical.com/articles/inside-body-vision-process