Biomarkers in Patients With Respiratory Tract Dysplasia or Lung Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer, or Aerodigestive Tract Cancer and in Normal Volunteers

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Meets any of the following criteria:

Diagnosis of extensive and severe dysplasia of the respiratory epithelium

Recruited from the SPORE Tissue Procurement Screening Project or by private or academic physicians (for patients with moderate or severe dysplasia)
Survived 1 or more aerodigestive system carcinoma for ≥ 1 year
Completely resected stage I non-small cell cancer

Undergoing any of the following procedures:

Routine panendoscopy for patients with head and neck cancer
Resection of a bronchogenic carcinoma
Bronchoscopy for diagnosis or staging of suspected lung cancer
Subsequent bronchoscopy for surveillance or monitoring of response to endobronchial treatment in patients with prior high-grade dysplasia or worse
No asthma
No lung disease
No respiratory illness within the past 2 weeks Patients suspected of or at risk for neoplastic lung disease who are undergoing a bronchoscopy in which differential diagnostic considerations may include multiple other etiologies such as infection and other processes.

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

No clinically apparent bleeding diathesis
No known bleeding disorder
No anginal
No clinically active coronary artery disease
No multifocal premature ventricular contractions
No poorly controlled congestive heart failure
No myocardial infarction within the past 6 weeks
No cardiac dysrhythmia that is potentially life threatening
Well-controlled atrial fibrillation or rare (< 2/min) premature ventricular contractions allowed
No ventricular tachycardia or supraventricular tachycardia with a rapid ventricular response
No other serious medical condition that would preclude a patient from undergoing a bronchoscopy
No acute bronchitis or pneumonia within the past 8 weeks except when clinically proven as a possible result of lung cancer
No hypoxemia (i.e., < 90% saturation with supplemental oxygen) before bronchoscopy

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

See Disease Characteristics