METHODS: This is a case series of four patients with endobronchial GT who underwent therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy between February 2021 and June 2024.
RESULTS: The ages of the patients in our series ranged from 32 to 75 years, and all patients were male. Cough and blood-tinged sputum were present in all patients with endobronchial GT. The tumor sizes ranged from 1 to 3 cm. Complete endoscopic resection and laser cauterization via rigid bronchoscopy were achieved in two patients. One patient had incomplete resection of a 3-cm tumor in the segmental bronchus that showed radiological evidence of bronchial wall invasion. This patient subsequently underwent lobectomy seven months after bronchoscopic resection. The fourth patient was lost to follow-up. There was no mortality throughout the follow-up periods that ranged from 2.8 to 42.5 months. Factors favoring successful rigid bronchoscopy resection for endobronchial GT include a benign tumor in the central airways without bronchial wall invasion.
CONCLUSION: Endoscopic resection and laser cauterization using rigid bronchoscopy may be a viable option for patients with endobronchial GT when surgery is not practical.
CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed eight patients with endobronchial IMT between January 2004 and December 2023.
RESULTS: The median age of our patients was 36 years, and 62.5% were male. Dyspnea was the predominant symptom in cases where the tumor was centrally located (n = 6), whereas hemoptysis was the predominant symptom in peripherally located tumors (n = 2). Most cases had high contrast enhancement and a tumor stalk without bronchial wall invasion on computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy. Complete endoscopic resection and laser cauterization via rigid bronchoscopy were possible in five patients. There were only two cases in which tumors remained after the procedure, requiring additional treatment (chemotherapy and surgical resection, respectively). In one patient, surgical resection was performed three weeks after the procedure, and the surgical specimen was free of residual tumor. There was no mortality during the median follow-up duration of 18.8 months.
CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic resection and laser cauterization using rigid bronchoscopy may serve as a safe and effective alternative treatment modality to surgery for patients with endobronchial IMT.