Indications of respiratory tract cytology
Compared with the remarkable success of the Pap smear in detecting and preventing cervical cancer, respiratory cytology (mostly sputum) has been a disappointment as a mass screening test for lung cancer. The problem is not lack of accuracy (sensitivity or specificity), but rather that even in high-risk patients (such as male smokers older than 45 years), it is not cost-effective, the diagnosis often comes too late (no increased survival), and difficult therapeutic choices arise when multifocal disease is detected in this vital organ.
Role of respiratory tract cytology