Regular Article

British Journal of Cancer (1999) 80, 1955–1957. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6690625 www.bjcancer.com
Published online 30 July 1999

Treatment of malignant pericardial effusion with 32P-colloid

W Dempke1,2 and N Firusian2

  1. 1Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Ernst-Grube-Str. 40, 06120 Halle, Germany
  2. 2Department of Medical Oncology and Haematology, Elisabeth Hospital, Roentgenstr. 10, 45661 Recklinghausen, Germany

Received 17 August 1998; Revised 14 December 1998; Accepted 2 April 1999.

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Abstract

Malignant pericardial effusion is usually treated only when signs of cardiac tamponade develop. Several methods of treatment have been reported with an overall response rate of approximately 75%. Since our initial study using intrapericardial 32P-colloid instillation as a treatment modality for pericardial effusion demonstrated a significant higher response rate, this study was conducted to further evaluate the efficacy of intrapericardial 32P-colloid in terms of response rates and duration of remissions. Intrapericardial instillation of 185–370 MBq (5–10 mCi) 32P-colloid in 36 patients with malignant pericardial effusion resulted in a complete remission rate of 94.5% (34 patients) whereas two patients did not respond to treatment due to a foudroyant formation of pericardial fluid. The median duration time was 8 months. No side-effects were observed. These results suggest that intrapericardial instillation of 32P-colloid is a simple, reliable and safe treatment strategy for patients with malignant pericardial effusions. Therefore, since further evidence is provided that 32P-colloid is significantly more effective than external radiation or non-radioactive sclerosing agents, this treatment modality should be considered for the management of malignant pericardial effusion.

Keywords:

pericardial effusion, 32P-colloid, response rates

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