. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jul 23.

Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2009 May;6(5):278–286. doi: 10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.39

Table 2.

Patterns of mediastinal lymph-node metastasis^a

Site of primary lung tumor	Most common site(s) of MLN metastasis	Minimally invasive technique for MLN diagnosis
Right upper lobe	4R	EBUS-TBNA
Right middle lobe	4R, 7	EBUS-TBNA^b
Right lower lobe	4R, 7	EBUS-TBNA^b
Left upper lobe	5, 6	EUS-FNA^c
Left lower lobe	5, 6	EUS-FNA^c

According to site of primary non-small-cell lung cancer and recommended primary investigation.

Posterior station 7 nodes may also be sampled by EUS-FNA.

EUS-FNA is not able to sample station 6 (para-aortic) MLNs and left video-assisted thoracic surgery or left anterior mediastinotomy may be preferred.

Abbreviations: EBUS-TBNA, endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration; EUS-FNA, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration; MLN, mediastinal lymph node.