Cytology of Pericardial Effusion due to Malignancy.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pericardial effusion occurs in one tenth of all cancers. It is a very serious disorder that is mainly a secondary process due to metastasis because primary neoplasms of the pericardium such as mesotheliomas, sarcomas being exceedingly rare [corrected]. Pericardial effusion specimens are uncommon and to the best of our knowledge the current study is the largest systematic evaluation of pericardial fluid cytology performed to date. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pericardial effusion specimens from 145 patients collected over a 25 [corrected] year period were studied by cytology [corrected]. The minimum pericardial fluid volume used for adequate cytologic diagnosis in these patients was more than 60 mL. RESULTS: Cytological diagnosis revealed malignant pericardial exudates in 100% of the studied patients [corrected]. CONCLUSIONS: Cytology provides an immediate and accurate means of diagnosis. Immunocytology is very important in the diagnostic evaluation.