Prediction Model for Nodal Disease Among Patients With Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Verdial and colleagues prospectively characterized the performance of a guideline-recommended invasive mediastinal staging (IMS) strategy in detecting nodal disease among 123 patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While the guideline-recommended approach identified all patients with true nodal disease, it also selected 65% of patients without nodal disease to undergo IMS. Toward the goal of reducing the usage of invasive procedures in patients with node-negative NSCLC, the authors developed a prediction model composed of five radiographic factors. They found that their prediction model maintained the sensitivity of the guideline-recommended IMS strategy (within a margin of error) while selecting fewer patients without nodal disease to undergo invasive staging. The authors note the need for the model to be independently validated in other cohorts.