A study on robotic bronchoscopy suggests improvements in early lung cancer detection in Jamaica

• A five-year multicenter study found the minimally invasive technology improved diagnostic accuracy and helped increase early-stage lung cancer detection. 

Jamaica, May 2026 -Health authorities in Jamaica have increasingly emphasized the need to raise awareness about lung cancer and its risk factors, particularly smoking. The National Health Fund notes that many people fail to recognize the symptoms of the disease until it has already reached advanced stages.

In this context, a new multicenter study suggests that robotic-assisted bronchoscopy could help diagnose lung cancer more quickly, accurately and with fewer complications through minimally invasive procedures. A five-year, multisite study from Mayo Clinic suggests robotic-assisted bronchoscopy may provide a less invasive and more precise approach to diagnosing lung cancer.

The study evaluated 2,115 lung lesions in 1,904 patients across Mayo Clinic campuses in Jacksonville; Phoenix; and Rochester, Minnesota, between 2019 and 2024. Researchers reported 85% sensitivity for malignancy and 76.9% accuracy, or a strict diagnostic yield, under newly standardized national criteria. They also reported a complication rate of 2.8%.

Since adoption of robotic bronchoscopy, the proportion of lung cancers diagnosed at an early stage at Mayo Clinic increased from 46% in 2019 to nearly 69% by mid-2024. While lung cancer was caught earlier, diagnoses at advanced stages decreased from 54% to 31% in 2024.
 
"Lung cancer survival depends heavily on early detection," says Sebastian Fernandez-Bussy, M.D., the James C. and Sarah K. Kennedy Dean of Research at Mayo Clinic in Florida and the lead author of this Mayo Clinic Proceedings study. "Technologies that allow us to diagnose and even treat disease earlier — and with fewer complications — can help improve survival."

A complex diagnostic decision

Lung cancer generally starts with a suspicious pulmonary nodule. When that is detected through screenings, a lung biopsy may be required to confirm the diagnosis.

Shape-sensing robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019, allows physicians to perform as many biopsies needed to be able to gather enough tissue for diagnosis and molecular markers that will further guide an individualized treatment approach. This technology provides physicians the precision and stability to sample multiple suspicious nodules throughout both lungs. By adding endobronchial ultrasound, physicians also can perform precise staging for the immune system glands, or mediastinal lymph nodes, all in one procedure.

When combined with real-time 3D imaging or cone beam CT scans, the system also helps physicians confirm the precise placement of the small tool within lesions before biopsy.
 
"This technology really has been a game-changer for diagnosing lung cancer earlier," says Dr. Fernandez-Bussy.

In this study, the researchers reported that 56% of lesions sampled were malignant. Twenty-one percent were definitively benign, and 23% were nondiagnostic under strict criteria.

The study applied updated strict diagnostic yield definitions from the American Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians, which exclude certain follow-up data that previously reported higher success rates.

Looking ahead

Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platforms are increasingly being paired with endobronchial therapies, including pulsed electric field ablation, a minimally invasive treatment for patients who are not eligible for surgery or radiation. Mayo Clinic has begun to offer diagnosis, staging and treatment during a single procedure.
 
"I call this the 'single anesthetic lung surgery pathway,' and it means fewer trips to the hospital, less time away from family and shorter recovery times," says coauthor Janani Reisenauer, M.D., chair of thoracic surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who has been involved in clinical trials that deliver cancer treatment within minutes of diagnosis.

Five-year survival for localized lung cancer approaches 67%, compared with approximately 12% for metastatic disease. National guidelines recommend timely evaluation and treatment after diagnosis. As lung cancer screening expands and more nodules are detected, demand for precise, minimally invasive diagnostic approaches is expected to grow.
 
This study illustrates the impact of research with patient-contributed biospecimens, and their associated data, in driving discoveries and advancing cures. Mayo Clinic's Bioresource initiative is now accelerating the pace of such discoveries by expanding researcher access to valuable biospecimens.

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