Robotic-assisted bronchoscope enables more precise biopsies

• Of all cancers, lung cancer is the leading cause of death across the population, even more than colon, breast and prostate cancer. With the robotic-assisted bronchoscope, pulmonologists can biopsy nodules with greater precision and confidence.

Santo Domingo, June 2022.- Cancer is the disease that claims the most lives worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2020, nearly 10 million deaths were attributed to the disease, almost one in six of all recorded deaths.

The 5 most common cancers are breast, prostate, rectal, cervical and lung cancer, with lung cancer causing the most deaths in 2020, at 1.8 million.

“Lung cancer statistics in Latin America are very high, but, as with most cancers, if it’s detected in time there’s a much better chance of receiving appropriate treatment”, says Dr. Ivan Romero Legro, a pulmonary medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic.

In the Dominican Republic, lung cancer is the third most common, with a 30% incidence, according to hospital records from the Heriberto Pieter and Cibao oncology institutes.

Cleveland Clinic’s pulmonary medicine team explains that bronchoscopy could be the best ally for detecting this disease early and so reducing the risk of death.

Thanks to bronchoscopy, a large percentage of irregularities in the respiratory organs can be detected: “The abnormalities that can be found in the lungs are pulmonary nodules, which are abnormal spots on the lung. Once detected, depending on the patient’s risk factors, a biopsy is carried out,” explains Dr. Romero Legro of Cleveland Clinic.

Technological advances against lung cancer

The best way to diagnose this disease is a biopsy. There are different ways of examining the lungs, but most patients undergo minimally invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy performed by a pulmonologist or a needle biopsy performed by a radiologist.

According to Cleveland Clinic medical staff, “biopsies are always a challenge and a risk for patients, as the nodules found in the lung are getting smaller and smaller”. Over the last two decades, technology to fight lung cancer has advanced exponentially, and techniques such as electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy, which can reach smaller nodules, have been perfected.

The latest technological advance for detecting lung cancer early, developed by Cleveland Clinic, is the robotic-assisted bronchoscope, which has certain features. It helps specialists diagnose more precisely where pulmonary nodules are located, even the tiniest ones, showing a real image in 3D at all times.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical centre that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based on the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 72,500 employees worldwide are more than 5,050 salaried physicians and researchers, and 17,800 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,500-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 21 hospitals, more than 220 outpatient facilities, and locations in northeast Ohio; southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2021, there were 10.2 million outpatient visits, 304,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 259,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries.

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