Case Report: Primary Pericardial Mesothelioma

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Primary pericardial mesothelioma is an extremely rare mesodermal tumor, among oncological diseases, with a very low incidence. About 350 cases have been described around the world, most of them diagnosed post-mortem. The short term prognosis is poor, regardless of the treatment, which is mostly palliative. We present a case report regarding this pathology. CASE REPORT: 69 year old patient hospitalized with dyspnea and severe anemia. Complementary workup showed pleural effusion and pericardial effusion. Histopathology report of the pericardial fluid revealed pericardial mesothelioma. EVOLUTION: Due to recurrence of pericardial effusion, it was decided to perform pericardiectomy and left pleurectomy as palliative treatment, to alleviate the patient’s symptoms. Chemotherapy was planned after the procedure, but the patient’s general condition deteriorated severely leading to his death. CONCLUSION: Primary pericardial mesothelioma is a rare tumor, whose symptoms are characterized by the associated pericardial effusion, making the diagnosis difficult due to it low incidence. The prognosis is poor in short- term, and there isn’t an established protocol for the treatment with results that showed improve in mortality. KEYWORDS: MESOTHELIOMA, PERICARDIAL EFFUSION, PERICARDIECTOMY, PLEUROTOMY.