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ESSENTIALS OF DIAGNOSIS
Occur in pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal spaces.
Caused by direct neoplastic involvement of serous surface or obstruction of lymphatic drainage.
Half of undiagnosed effusions in patients not known to have cancer are malignant.
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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
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The development of an effusion in the pleural, pericardial, or peritoneal space may be the initial finding in a patient with cancer, or an effusion may appear during the course of disease progression. Direct involvement of the serous surface with tumor is the most frequent initiating cause of the accumulation of fluid. The most common malignancies causing pleural and pericardial effusions are lung and breast cancers; the most common malignancies associated with malignant ascites are ovarian, colorectal, stomach, and pancreatic cancers.
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A. Symptoms and Signs
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Patients with pleural and pericardial effusions complain of shortness of breath and orthopnea. Patients with ascites complain of abdominal distention and discomfort. Cardiac tamponade causing pressure equalization in the chambers impairs both filling and cardiac output and can be life-threatening. Signs of tamponade include tachycardia, muffled heart sounds, pulsus paradoxus, and hypotension. Signs of pleural effusions include decreased breath sounds, egophony, and percussion dullness.
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B. Laboratory Findings
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Malignancy is confirmed as the cause of an effusion when analysis of the fluid specimen shows malignant cells in either the cytology or cell block specimen.
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The presence of effusions can be confirmed with radiographic studies or ultrasonography.
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DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
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The differential diagnosis of a malignant exudative pleural or pericardial effusion includes nonmalignant processes, such as infection, pulmonary embolism, heart failure, and trauma.
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The differential diagnosis of malignant ascites includes similar benign processes, such as heart failure, cirrhosis, peritonitis, and pancreatic ascites.
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Bloody effusions are usually due to cancer, but a bloody pleural effusion can also be due to pulmonary embolism, trauma and, occasionally, infection. Chylous pleural or ascitic fluid is generally associated with obstruction of lymphatic drainage as might occur in lymphomas.
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In some cases, treatment of the underlying cancer with chemotherapy can cause regression of the effusions; however, not uncommonly, the development of an effusion is an end-stage manifestation of the cancer. In this situation, decisions regarding management are in large part dictated by the patient’s symptoms and goals of care.
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A pleural effusion that is symptomatic may be managed initially with a large volume thoracentesis. With some patients, the effusion slowly reaccumulates, which allows for periodic thoracentesis when the patient becomes symptomatic. However, in many patients, the effusion reaccumulates quickly, causing rapid return of shortness of breath. For those patients, two other management options exist: pleurodesis or indwelling pleural ...