Highlights that malignant pericardial effusion can be the initial presentation of bronchogenic carcinoma, which is associated with a poor prognosis.
May prompt malignancy workup in unexplained pericardial effusion; leaves open optimal management strategies.
Two patients in whom the development of a malignant pericardial effusion lead to the diagnosis of an unsuspected bronchogenic carcinoma are presented. Pericardial involvement has rarely been described as the first manifestation of an underlying lung tumor. Histologic type in both cases was adenocarcinoma, the most commonly described pattern in this situation. In concurrence with previous reports, prognosis of patients with malignant pericardial effusion remains poor.
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Sulkes et al. (1982) studied this question.
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