Localization of the metastatic site within a lymph node using endobronchial elastography.

Endobronchial elastography is a novel imaging technology which visualizes the relative stiffness of the targeted tissue. Endobronchial elastography can be used for differentiating malignant and benign lymph nodes during nodal staging in patients with lung cancer. Another possible utility of endobronchial elastography would be targeting high-risk area within the intrathoracic lymph node. During nodal staging using endosonographic technology, a false negative result was known as a limitation of needle biopsy modality that could be caused by the micrometastasis within the lymph node. We report the identification of mediastinal lymph node metastasis in a patient with squamous cell carcinoma by visualization of the metastatic site using endobronchial elastography.