---
title: "CPMC Reaches Milestone as Face of Lung Cancer Changes | Sutter Health"
description: "Sutter's CPMC in San Francisco has performed its 500th robotic bronchoscopy, as doctors evaluate more younger, nonsmoking and female patients for lung cancer."
url: "https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes"
---

1.  [Home](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/) /
2.  [Research & innovation](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation) /
3.  CPMC Reaches Milestone as Face of Lung Cancer Changes

# CPMC Reaches Milestone as Face of Lung Cancer Changes

Sutter's CPMC in San Francisco has performed its 500th robotic bronchoscopy, as doctors evaluate more younger, nonsmoking and female patients for lung cancer.

September 22, 2026 by Sutter Health

![Four Sutter clinicians pose in a procedure room with giant blue balloons spelling '500,' marking CPMC's 500th robotic bronchoscopy.](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/500-milestone.png?h=617&iar=0&w=815)

Sutter's CPMC in San Francisco, part of Sutter Health, has performed its 500th robotic bronchoscopy since launching the technology in 2023, as doctors see a changing population of patients being evaluated for lung cancer. 

For decades, lung cancer was closely associated with older adults who smoked. But doctors are increasingly evaluating younger patients, women and people who have never smoked after finding suspicious spots on lung scans.

A surgical team in an OR uses robotic technology for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.

![Two clinicians in surgical gear view robotic bronchoscopy navigation screens while one operates a handheld tablet controller.](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/patient-stories/Dr-Heba-Ismail-at-the-controls-of-the-Ion-robot-by-Intuitive-46ab1a74.jpg "Dr. Heba Ismail works the controls of the Ion robot by Intuitive.")

“Lung cancer is not always the disease people think it is,” said Dr. Heba Ismail, director of Interventional Pulmonology at CPMC. “We are seeing patients who don’t fit the traditional picture, and we need to be able to evaluate these findings accurately and with as little burden to the patient as possible.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 229,410 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2026, including 110,910 men and 118,500 women.

Robotic bronchoscopy uses advanced tools to reach small or hard-to-access areas of the lungs and take tissue samples for testing. At CPMC, it can also be part of the [Assisted Single Anesthetic Procedure](https://www.beckersoncology.com/oncology/how-sutter-health-procedure-treats-lung-cancer-in-1-day-instead-of-weeks/) , or ASAP, model, which allows doctors in some cases to biopsy a lung nodule, determine whether it is cancer and proceed with surgery during the same anesthetic event.

The approach brings pulmonologists, radiologists, thoracic surgeons, oncologists and pathologists together around the patient, helping streamline the path from an abnormal scan to a diagnosis and treatment plan.

For Dr. Ismail, the next challenge is continuing to recognize lung cancer in people who may not consider themselves at risk.

> The most important thing we can do as physicians is help people understand their risk and get screened when they’re eligible,” she said. “Our goal is to keep finding better and faster ways to detect lung cancers earlier so patients can move quickly to get the care they need.

![500-robotic-broncoscopy-with-whole-team](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/500-robotic-broncoscopy-with-whole-team.jpg "(L to R) Dr. Morgan Gilani, Dr. Jey K. Chung, Dr. George S. Horng, Dr. Pete Anastassiou, Dr. Heba Ismail")

## How Common Is Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell) is the second most common cancer in both men and women in the U.S., not counting skin cancer.

The number of new lung cancer cases continues to decrease overall, partly because more people are [quitting smoking](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/tobacco.html) (or not starting).

## Topics

[Lung Cancer](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/search?facets=%5B%7B%22i%22%3A%22c_healthTopics.name%22%2C%22v%22%3A%5B%22Lung+Cancer%22%5D%7D%5D&verticalKey=articles)

## Lung and thoracic cancer

Your lungs bring in the oxygen your body needs to thrive every day. If you're facing lung or thoracic cancer, our specialists can provide precise diagnosis, advanced treatments and coordinated care.

[Learn more about Lung and thoracic cancer](https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/lung-thoracic-cancer)

## Related articles

### [S.F. Surgical Team Celebrates Robotic Bronchoscopy Milestone](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/s-f-surgical-team-celebrates-robotic-bronchoscopy-milestone)

### [New Procedure Speeds Early Lung Cancer Care; Here's How](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/new-surgical-protocol-for-lung-cancer-speeds-care-for-patients)

### [Navigating Lung Cancer with Heart](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/patient-stories/navigating-lung-cancer-with-heart)

### [Sutter Physician Strikes Balance Between Motherhood, Career](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/our-people/sutter-health-physician-strikes-balance-between-motherhood-and-career)

[See all from Research & innovation](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation)

## Check your Vitals

Get the latest in health innovation, community impact and patient care from Sutter Health — delivered straight to your inbox.

[Subscribe to Vitals](https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/subscribe)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","name":"\tCPMC Reaches Milestone as Face of Lung Cancer Changes","description":"Sutter's CPMC in San Francisco has performed its 500th robotic bronchoscopy, as doctors evaluate more younger, nonsmoking and female patients for lung cancer.","url":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes#breadcrumblist"}}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes#article","url":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes","headline":"CPMC Reaches Milestone as Face of Lung Cancer Changes","description":"Sutter's CPMC in San Francisco has performed its 500th robotic bronchoscopy, as doctors evaluate more younger, nonsmoking and female patients for lung cancer.","articleSection":"Research & innovation","inLanguage":"en-US","datePublished":"2026-09-22T12:21:26-07:00","dateModified":"2026-10-20T12:28:06-07:00","author":[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","name":"Sutter Health"}],"publisher":{"@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org"},"abstract":"Sutter's CPMC in San Francisco has performed its 500th robotic bronchoscopy, as doctors evaluate more younger, nonsmoking and female patients for lung cancer.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/500-milestone.png?h=617&iar=0&w=815","width":"815","height":"617","caption":"Four Sutter clinicians pose in a procedure room with giant blue balloons spelling '500,' marking CPMC's 500th robotic bronchoscopy."},"thumbnailUrl":"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/500-milestone.png?h=617&iar=0&w=815","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/#website","name":"Vitals - Sutter Health","url":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes","about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Lung and thoracic cancer"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Interventional pulmonology"}],"keywords":["Lung Cancer"],"mentions":[{"@type":"Hospital","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-location/facility/cpmc-van-ness-campus-1043247265#hospital","name":"CPMC Van Ness Campus","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-location/facility/cpmc-van-ness-campus-1043247265"}]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation/cpmc-reaches-milestone-as-face-of-lung-cancer-changes#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research & innovation","item":"https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/research-innovation"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"CPMC Reaches Milestone as Face of Lung Cancer Changes"}]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Lung Cancer Screening: Who Qualifies, and Who Does Not","thumbnailUrl":"https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/817826402001/cc542f27-684e-4120-8789-35d2ab5007c3/8966798f-33c7-44b5-9b93-766159d4696c/1280x720/match/image.jpg","uploadDate":"2023-06-17T00:38:10.887Z","embedUrl":"https://players.brightcove.net/817826402001/79bcaa57-54d7-453c-9f1f-8ab3ef7b15de/index.html?videoId=6329573857112","description":"Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer, but not everyone should be screened. Sutter pulmonary specialist Heba Ismail, M.D., explains who is at high risk, who should be screened and the importance of catching lung cancer early.","duration":"PT1M56S","transcript":"Lung cancer is the leading cause\nof cancer death worldwide.\nPeople who smoke\nhave the highest risk of lung cancer.\nBut even people who never smoked\ncan get lung cancer.\nLung cancer symptoms\nusually don't show up\nuntil it has spread\nto other parts of your body.\nBy then, it's really hard to treat.\nScreening for lung\ncancer can find it earlier\nwhen treatment is more effective.\nBut lung cancer screening\nis recommended\nonly for people at high risk.\nSo who is at high risk?\nAnyone age 50 to 80\nwho currently smokes\nor quit in the past 15 years\nand was formerly a heavy smoker.\nThis means someone who smoked a pack\na day\nfor 20 years\nor two packs a day for 10 years.\nPeople at high risk\nshould be screened\nannually for lung cancer.\nThe screening test for lung\ncancer is a low dose CT scan.\nIt can help find\nabnormal areas in the lung\nthat could be cancers.\nDuring the scan\nyou will lie down on a table\nthat slides into a circular scanner.\nYou will be asked to stay still\nand hold your breath for a few moments\nwhile a specialized X-ray uses\na low amount of radiation\nto create a detailed image of your lungs.\nThe scan is painless\nand takes only a few minutes.\nIf a nodule is found,\nit may not be cancerous.\nYour care team will advise\nif you need additional\ntests or treatment.\nCertain Sutter Health locations\noffer a specialized lung nodule program\nto quickly analyze nodules\nand create a follow up plan\njust for you\nbased on your risk factors\nand family history.\nIf you think you might be at high risk\nfor lung cancer,\ntalk to your doctor\nto find out if you're eligible for\nlung cancer screening."}
```