Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Sep;5 Suppl 4(Suppl 4):S413-9.
doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2013.09.04.

Malignant pleural effusion and algorithm management

Konstantinos Zarogoulidis  1 , Paul Zarogoulidis, Kaid Darwiche, Kosmas Tsakiridis, Nikolaos Machairiotis, Ioanna Kougioumtzi, Nikolaos Courcoutsakis, Eirini Terzi, Bojan Zaric, Haidong Huang, Lutz Freitag, Dionysios Spyratos
Affiliations
Review

Malignant pleural effusion and algorithm management

Konstantinos Zarogoulidis et al. J Thorac Dis. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

Involvement of the pleura in lung cancer is a common manifestation accompanying with reduced life expectancy. Symptoms relief and improvement of the quality of life are the primary goals of the management of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Histological confirmation is essential for optimal patient management. Lung cancer patients, with life expectancy more than 3 months, resistant to chemotherapy should be treated with thoracentesis, intercoastal tube drainage and installation of a sclerosant agent or pleurodesis through thoracospopic procedures or placement of an indwelling pleura catheter. Talc pleurodesis (sterile asbestos-free graded, particle size >15 μm), as "poudrage" or "slurry" still remains the treatment of choice in patients with MPE resistant to chemotherapy.

Keywords: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE); pleurodesis; suicide gene therapy; thoracoscopy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest radiograph demonstrating production of a meniscus sign along the left lateral chest wall (arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Profile X-ray-decubitus position-demonstrating a free flowing effusion (arrows).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chest computer tomography demonstrating a right malignant pleural effusion (arrows).
Figure 4
Figure 4
A thoracic ultrasonography detecting pleural fluid PF.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Thoracoscopic view in the right pleura cavity. The chest wall pleura is infiltrated with whities nodular tumor deposits secondary to metastatic lung adenocarcinoma.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Management algorithm of the of Lung Cancer primary malignant pleural effusions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Chernow B, Sahn SA. Carcinonomatous involvement of the pleura: an analysis of 96 patients. Am J Med 1977;63:695-702 - PubMed
    1. Sahn SA. Malignant pleural effusions. Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2001;22:607-16 - PubMed
    1. American Thoracic Society Management of malignant pleural effusions. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000;162:1987-2001 - PubMed
    1. Noppen M.Normal volume and cellular contents of pleural fluid. Curr Opin Pulm Med 2001;7:180-2 - PubMed
    1. Fenton KN, Richardson JD. Diagnosis and management of malignant pleural effusions. Am J Surg 1995;170:69-74 - PubMed