BENEFITS OF TTB (TRANS THORACIC BIOPSY) EXAMINATION IN LUNG CANCER

Lung cancer is still one of the major health problems worldwide and is the leading cause of death from cancer. Every year more patients die from lung cancer compared to combined breast, bowel, and prostate cancers. There are several risk factors for lung cancer including smoking, radiation exposure, a history of cancer in the patient or the patient's family, and a history of lung diseases such as COPD or pulmonary fibrosis.

Lung cancer is all malignant diseases that affect the lung organs primaryly. Primary lung cancer is a malignancy that comes from the lungs. According to the WHO classification in 1999, there are four types of primary malignancy cells in the lungs, namely small cell carcinoma, squamous or epidermoid cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma. The symptoms of lung cancer are chronic cough, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, chest pain, Pancoast syndrome (Symptoms that appear mainly in the form of severe pain in the shoulder area that radiates towards the armpits and 13 scapula along the ulnar and muscles of the hands, atrophy of the arm and hand muscles).

One way to detect lung cancer is by trans Thoracic Biopsy (TTB). TTB is the act of taking a pulmonary specimen (biopsy) by penetrating the chest wall. This action will provide high accuracy with the "Rapid On Site Examination" procedure so that the biopsy action is not carried out repeatedly.

Trans Thoracic Biopsy (TTB) examination can be done to obtain specimens for cytological and histopathological examinations. This procedure is carried out without radiological guidance (blinded TTB) or with ultrasound guidance (USG-guided TTB) or thoracic CT-scan (CT-guided TTB), to obtain cytology or histopathology of lung cancer.

The percutaneous needle aspiration approach or called Trans Thoracic Biopsy (TTB) with the guidance of computed tomography scanning (CT scan) has been generally accepted as a method for diagnosing peripheral lung cancer. The sensitivity of TTB with the guidance of a CT scan to diagnose a malignancy reaches 83-96% with a specificity of 94-100%.

Trans Thoracic Biopsy (TTB) is performed most often to detect metastatic, inoperable, or recurrent neoplastic diseases or to obtain material for culture in suspected infected patients. Malignant lesions are distinguished from benign lesions by using TTB in as much as 90% of all cases.

The benefits in the Transtoracal Biopsy (TTB) procedure are good diagnosis accuracy, more representative results, early diagnosis enforcement, avoiding repeated tissue sampling.