Lung cancer leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

In U.S., the five-year survival rate for all stages of non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form, is only 28 percent, compared to 91 percent for breast cancer and 97 percent for prostate cancer, according to the Great Falls Hospital.

A major contributor to that low survival rate is that 76 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed after it has already spread, limiting treatment options and outcomes.

“That’s why early detection is so vital and exactly why this new technology is such a transformative addition to our community’s healthcare options,” according the hospital, which recently added the Ion robotic bronchoscopy technology.

The new diagnostic tool was rolled out at Great Falls Hospital a few weeks ago and has been used on seven patients so far this month.

Screening rates for lung cancer are low, around six percent nationally, said Samuel Baker, a representative with Intuitive, the company that developed the Ion robot.

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He said there’s pushes for early screening for breast and prostate cancers, but lung cancer often goes undetected until it’s too late.

Lung cancer is aggressive and Baker said that smaller nodules that can be cancerous are often in the outer third of the lungs, which are difficult to get to and could require a painful puncture from outside the body to biopsy, risking tears in the airway.

The Ion robot is designed to perform biopsies in harder to reach areas of the lungs to allow for earlier diagnosis and determining the stage of the cancer, when there’s greater potential for treatment, Baker said.

Dr. Megan Sisk, a pulmonologist at Great Falls Hospital, said that when patients get a CT scan for any reason, if doctors notice spots on the lungs, they can be referred to her immediately.

She will consult with the patients and can schedule a biopsy procedure using the Ion robot within a week, which is uncommonly quick.

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With the robot, Sisk can make a three dimensional map of the airways and map multiple route options to the nodule in question.

The patient will be under anesthesia for the procedure, which takes about 20 minutes, and from there Sisk can determine if it’s cancerous and what stage it is.

From that early diagnosis, the patient is connected with a treatment team and depending on the cancer stage, have options for treatment such as surgery and/or radiation.

The robot allows doctors like Sisk to get closer to the edges of the lungs and make precise biopsies.

Mark Robinson, Great Falls Hospital CEO, said that from concept to their first case was about 45 days.

He said hospital officials and clinicians discussed diseases that weren’t caught early enough to see where they could have an impact.

Lung cancer, he said, was often not caught early enough and had a “watch and wait” mentality when nodules were found. In some cases, nothing would happen, but in others, the cancer would have spread and then they’ve lost time for treatment.

Robinson said that the hospital reached out to Intuitive and moved quickly to get the robot and train the two Great Falls Hospital pulmonologists using the new technology.

Robinson said that several of the seven cases they’ve biopsied with the new robot had nodules they wouldn’t have been able to reach without the new technology.

“What do people in Montana need….they need to be diagnosed early,” Robinson said.

With the new Ion robotic bronchoscopy machine, the Great Falls Hospital is now the third in the state and will handle all the cases in central Montana increasing access for local and regional patients, according to hospital staff.

Robinson said the hospital is building partnerships with outlying providers since they can refer patients to the hospital for lung biopsies with the new robot.

Sisk already does regular outreach to surrounding areas and they’re talking about expanding that work.

Sisk said she and Dr. John Mazur, the other pulmonologist using the new robot, went to California for a few days to train at the Intuitive headquarters.

She said they’re familiar with the procedures and technologies, so they mostly focused on troubleshooting the new robot as well as its setup and breakdown after each use.

In Montana, she said the time from a first scan to treatment can take 12 weeks to 20 months.

“That’s really terrible,” Baker said, and every six weeks, there’s a 13 percent reduction in the survival rate for lung cancer.

There’s delays in getting appointments with primary care providers, then referrals for specialists,

So they’ve looked at pieces in the process to speed diagnosis to treat earlier and increase survival rates.

Now, if someone gets a chest scan and a provider notices spots on the lungs, they can send the patient to Sisk and Mazur for a consult and schedule a biopsy within a week.

Other cancers, such as melanoma, renal and breast, can be detected in the lungs, Baker said, so early detection can support those treatments too.

Mazur said that “early stage lung cancers are lethal,” with a 50 percent mortality in the first year and a half.

The robots provide more precise navigation further into the lungs rather than having to punch a hole into the lung for a diagnosis.

The robot can also be used for radiofrequency ablation to destroy cancerous tissue in the case of Stage 1 lung cancer, he said.

The robot can get closer to the edge of the lung than any other device on the market currently, Mazur said.

The robot is “another tool” in their box for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for lung cancer, he said.