Lung cancer : journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
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Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional microscopic images of tissue, potentially enabling optical biopsy to substitute for conventional excisional biopsy. We sought to investigate the capability of OCT to image the microstructure of normal and abnormal bronchial tissue. ⋯ This study was the first report of the endobronchial OCT for lung cancer in clinical practice. Layers of the bronchial wall were distinctly observed in the normal bronchus on the OCT images, as opposed to bronchial tumors which lacked a layered structure. The ability of OCT to identify abnormal areas may well revise present methods for early diagnosis endoscopically.