BACKGROUND: An intrathoracic mass persists after completion of treatment in 20% of the @entity1 treated for @entity978 ( @entity978 ) or @entity1893 ( @entity1893 ). Gallium scan and positron emission tomography allow for diagnosis in most cases. However, in some @entity1 , a pathologic examination of the residual mass (RM) is required. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of a thoracoscopic approach for intrathoracic RM, as compared with image-guided biopsies. @entity1 AND METHODS: From 1996 to 1998, 29 consecutive @entity1 treated for NLH (n = 11) or @entity978 (n = 18) were referred either to radiology (group R; n = 8) or to surgery (group S; n = 21) for biopsy of an intrathoracic RM. There were 13 male and 16 female @entity1 ranging in age from 15 to 56 years (mean, 32 years). The reason for a biopsy was the inability to determine the nature of the RM by means of radiologic examination or scintigraphy. Biopsy was defined as successful when (1) @entity706 was found in the specimen, or (2) benign tissue was found and the @entity1 remained disease-free after a minimal follow-up period of 12 months. A biopsy was defined as a failure when a local recurrence occurred in a @entity1 with a diagnosis of benign lesion. RESULTS: No significant procedure-related complications occurred in either group. The mean follow-up was 26 months (range, 13 to 72 months). In group R, @entity706 was found in only one @entity1 . In group S, @entity706 was found in seven @entity1 (p = 0.5). In the seven @entity1 of group R with a diagnosis of benign mediastinal lesion, two @entity1 had a local recurrence and one had a recurrence within the abdomen. In the 15 @entity1 of group S in whom no residual disease was found, 1 @entity1 had an intrathoracic recurrence (p = 0.5) while 2 @entity1 had recurrence in a remote site. CONCLUSION: Despite the limited number of @entity1 in this series, results suggest that a thoracoscopic approach yields better data than image-guided biopsies.

Thoracoscopy or CT-guided biopsy for residual intrathoracic masses after treatment of XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient', 'PATIENTS'] @entity978 :: ('MESH:D006689', 'Disease') :: ['HD', "Hodgkin's disease"] @entity706 :: ('MESH:D008223', 'Disease') :: ['residual lymphoma'] @entity1893 :: ('MESH:D008228', 'Disease') :: ["non-Hodgkin's lymphoma", 'NHL']
@entity706 :: (MESH:D008223,Disease) :: ['lymphoma']
