Supraclavicular Lymph Node Excision Biopsy in Patients with Suspected Supraclavicular Lymph Node Metastasis of Lung Cancer: Experience in a Tertiary Hospital

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of supraclavicular lymph node excision biopsy in the diagnosis of suspected supraclavicular lymph node metastasis of lung cancer. A retrospective review was performed to evaluate patients with suspected supraclavicular lymph node metastasis of lung cancer who underwent supraclavicular lymph node excision biopsy from January 2011 to July 2014. Forty-six patients with suspected supraclavicular lymph node metastasis of lung cancer underwent supraclavicular lymph node excision biopsy, which diagnosed benign diseases in 6 patients and malignant diseases in 40 patients. Supraclavicular lymph node excision biopsy was usually performed on patients during their first clinical visit under local anesthesia. For diagnosing suspected lung cancer, supraclavicular lymph node excision biopsy had a diagnostic sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 97.6%, positive-predictive value of 83.3%, negative-predictive value of 100%, and accuracy of 97.8%. No major complication resulted from surgical intervention. Supraclavicular lymph node excision biopsy is a useful and accurate adjunct for the evaluation of suspected supraclavicular lymph node metastasis of lung cancer in a tertiary hospital.