If a PET/CT scan is positive for mediastinal lymph node involvement, is a mediastinoscopy or EBUS still required for NSCLC staging?
In practice, do you send patients with N2/3 disease for mediastinal staging if not offered upfront?
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
The gold standard for mediastinal staging is still mediastinoscopy.
You can have 15 to 20 percent false positive PET findings in mediastinum and for these patients surgery should not be excluded based on PET findings alone.