In The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Neal Navani and colleagues report data from a multicentre trial to assess the use of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) transbronchial aspiration (TBNA) for the staging of lung cancer.1 In 2008, when recruitment for this trial started, 1·6 million new cases of lung cancer occurred worldwide, accounting for 13% of all cancers. During the same period, 1·4 million people died of the disease, representing 18% of all cancer deaths.2 Most lung cancers (about 80%) are non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC),3 for which surgery is a curative option.