Diagnostic performance of bronchial washing fluid NGS by clinical characteristics of lung cancer

Lung lesions suspected of being early-stage lung cancer identified with chest computed tomography (CT) without endobronchial lesions require invasive procedures for diagnosis. Bronchial washing (BW) fluid can be collected minimally invasively. BW cytology has low diagnostic yield and limitations for providing molecular profiles. A total of 164 subjects (114 lung cancers, 50 benign lesions) were enrolled. We analyze DNA sequencing of BW fluid (BW sequencing) with targeted gene panels and elucidate the characteristics (location, size, bronchus sign, necrosis, etc) of patients for whom BW sequencing can be effectively applied. We demonstrate that BW sequencing can show optimal diagnostic performance and provide molecular profiles for patients with necrotic lung lesions on chest CT.