Prognostic factors in patients with malignant pleural effusion undergoing thoracoscopy

Background: Survival of patients with malignant pleural effusion is considered generally poor. These patients are likely to undergo thoracoscopy for diagnosis and treatment of their disease. Factors affecting survival are important to define, to decide whether patients should undergo interventional procedures. The aim of our study was to evaluate prognostic factors of patients with malignant pleural effusion undergoing thoracoscopy. Methods: Patients with malignant origin proven by thoracoscopy, have been studied prospectively to determine prognostic factors. Survival time was defined as the time interval from thoracoscopy to death or last follow-up. A regression model was used to assess significant prognostic factors. Results: 90 patients with histological diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion after thoracoscopy, were included. Diagnosis was: lung carcinoma 43%, breast carcinoma 23.6%, mesothelioma 12.9%, genito-urinary carcinoma 7.1%, GI 4.8%, other 5.1%, unknown primary 3.5%. The median overall survival time was 11 months ranging from 1 to 55. The Cox analysis showed that histology of the primary tumor (p=0.019), ps (p Conclusion: Performance status, histology of the primary tumor, and WBC are factors of survival in patients undergoing thoracoscopy for malignant pleural effusion. The prospective identification of patients meeting these criteria may help physicians select patients for interventional procedures.