Abstract
Primary pericardial mesothelioma is an extremely rare and lethal cardiac tumor. We report an autopsy case of a primary pericardial mesothelioma in a 52-year-old man. He developed dyspnea, cough, low-grade fever and night sweats approximately 3 months before last admission. Initially, he was evaluated at a hospital in another city, without a firm diagnosis. Due to progressive symptoms and the development of lower-extremity edema, he presented at our hospital in September 2005. The physical examination at admission demonstrated signs of pericardial tamponade. Chest radiography revealed marked enlargement of the cardiac silhouette. Specimens of bloody pericardial fluid were positive for pericardial mesothelioma by cytologic examination. The general condition of the patient worsened very rapidly and he was transferred to the intensive care unit where he later died. Postmortem examination confirmed primary pericardial mesothelioma of the mixed/biphasic type with lymphatic metastasis in the right lung. By using immunohistochemical analysis for specific markers of mesothelioma and for differentiation of the mesothelioma from the lung adenocarcinoma, definitive diagnosis was established: primary pericardial mesothelioma.
Highlights
Mesothelioma is a malignancy deriving from the serous epithelial cells of the mesothelium (1-5)
We report an autopsy case of a primary pericardial mesothelioma in a 52-year-old man
The most frequent sites are pleura (60%-70%) and the peritoneum (30%35%); mesothelioma of the pericardium is extremely rare; they account for 0.7% of all diagnosed malignant mesotheliomas (5-7)
Summary
Radovan Karad3⁄4iæ[1], Lidija Kostiæ-Banoviæ[1], Aleksandra Antoviæ[1], Marko Èelar[2], Vuka Katiæ[3], Goran Iliæ[1], Jovan Stojanoviæ[1]
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