Tumor-Related Factors Affecting the Success of Interventional Bronchoscopy in Malignant Airway Obstructions

It is difficult to select patients who will benefit from endobronchial treatment (ET) in malignant central airway obstruction (MCAO). We aimed to determine the tumor-related factors that affect the success of MCAO treatment.

ETs for MCAO between March 2019 and June 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The relationships between the success of the procedure and the percentage of endoluminal obstruction, tumor size, and type of lesion were evaluated.

Totally, 220 ETs were administered to 205 patients. Treatment was significantly more successful for the patients with pure endobronchial lesions than those with mixed lesions. The success rate was significantly lower when the tumor size was greater than 54.5 mm and the degree of endoluminal stenosis exceeded 92%; the area under the curve was 0.734 (0.625–0.842; P = 0.001) and 0.733 (0.597– 0.870; P = 0.001), respectively. There was no difference in the procedural success between lung cancer and extrathoracic malignancies and tumor treatment before the procedure.

Mixed lesions, tumor size over 54.5 mm, and a degree of stenosis over 92% are risk factors for unsuccessful endoluminal obstruction procedures. These parameters should be considered when selecting patients for ET interventions.