PILOT STUDY OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE FINDINGS OF ATYPICAL/MALIGNANT CELLS IN SPUTUM AND FLUORESCENCE BRONCHOSCOPY IN PATIENTS AT RISK FOR LUNG CANCER OF THE LIFE IMAGING SYSTEM AND WHITE LIGHT BRONCHOSCOPY

OBJECTIVES:

• Evaluate the efficacy of autofluorescence bronchoscopy using the Lung Imaging Fluorescence Endoscopic System with conventional white-light bronchoscopy for the early detection of lung cancer in selected patients with known or suspected bronchogenic carcinoma, completely resected head and neck cancer, and successfully treated early-stage lung cancer.
• Determine the number of areas of moderate dysplasia, severe dysplasia, and carcinoma in situ in patients treated with surgery for lung cancer compared with patients treated with combined modality therapy.
• Determine the ability of immunohistochemistry to predict whether lesions of moderate to severe dysplasia will progress to cancer.

OUTLINE: If possible, patients produce a 3-day pooled sputum sample prior to bronchoscopy. Patients then undergo tracheobronchial white-light bronchoscopy followed by autofluorescence bronchoscopy using the Lung Imaging Fluorescence Endoscopic (LIFE) Device attached to a computerized video camera. Visualized tissue is classified as either normal, abnormal, or suspicious. Abnormal or suspicious tissue is biopsied, as is tissue from 1 or 2 randomly chosen normal sites. Immunohistochemical analysis of the biopsy material is conducted without knowledge of the bronchoscopic results. Patients unable to produce a sputum sample prior to bronchoscopy are required to do so after bronchoscopy.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 70 patients will be entered.