Objective: To compare the accuracy of autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB) combined with white light bronchoscopy (WLB) versus WLB alone in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
Methods: The Ovid, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases from January 1990 to October 2010 were searched. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of the trials and extracted data. The relative risk for sensitivity and specificity on a per-lesion basis of AFB + WLB versus WLB alone to detect intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cancer were pooled by Review Manager.
Results: Twenty-one studies involving 3266 patients were ultimately analyzed. The pool relative sensitivity on a per-lesion basis of AFB + WLB versus WLB alone to detect intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cancer was 2.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.72-2.42) and 1.15 (95% CI 1.05-1.26), respectively. The pool relative specificity on a per-lesion basis of AFB + WLB versus WLB alone was 0.65 (95% CI 0.59-0.73).
Conclusions: Although the specificity of AFB + WLB is lower than WLB alone, AFB + WLB seems to significantly improve the sensitivity to detect intraepithelial neoplasia. However, this advantage over WLB alone seems much less in detecting invasive lung cancer.