Less-Invasive Method Finds Stage of Lung Cancer Nov. 23, 2010 -- A less-invasive method to determine the stage of non-small-cell lung cancer is effective, often sparing the patient the need for general anesthesia and a surgical procedure, according to a new study.

Under currently accepted guidelines, staging of non-small-cell lung cancer is done either by a special ultrasound technique of the internal organs called endosonography or a surgical diagnostic procedure called a mediastinoscopy, in which doctors look at the inside of the upper chest between and in front of the lungs.

If the ultrasound detects no cancer, doctors move on to the surgical staging technique to be sure; if the ultrasound detects cancer, the doctor can then move on to a treatment plan.

In the new study, Jouke Annema, MD, PhD, a chest physician at the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, Netherlands, compared surgical staging alone vs. ultrasound followed by staging if necessary.

''These data clearly indicate you should start with the endosonography," he tells WebMD.

The study is published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lung cancer, now the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, with 1.35 million cases yearly, is also the most frequent cause of cancer death, claiming 1.18 million lives a year, Annema writes.

While most patients have advanced-stage disease when it is first detected, for others a search for the cancer spread or metastasis is essential before deciding on treatment.

One challenge is detecting cancers in the small lymph nodes nearby.

A Visual Guide to Lung Cancer