Another method of diagnosis used if fluid analysis isn’t sufficient is VATS, or video-assisted thoracic surgery.  With this method, it is more invasive than a thoracoscopy, and it’s somewhat dangerous as risks of tumor seeding are there.  Surgeons with this method will make a small incision, and use a camera to find sufficient tissue samples for analysis by a pathologist. This procedure also helps to determine what type of procedure might be best to treat any tumor that is present in the patient.  This is one of the more invasive forms of diagnosis.

A couple more forms of diagnosis are mediatinoscopy and laproscopy.  Mediatinoscopy is where imaging methods are used to determine the stage/extent of disease. Laproscopy is used for people who have had image techniques suggest that the diaphragm may be invaded by a tumor.