Three-year survival after surgery for primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma: report of a case

A 59-year-old female underwent surgery for a primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma. She presented with progressive dyspnea, and several imaging studies demonstrated a 65 x 22 mm tumor in the aortopulmonary window, accompanied by massive pericardial effusion. The tumor was successfully excised with clean surgical margins under cardiopulmonary bypass, followed by patch reconstruction of the pulmonary artery, and was diagnosed as an epithelioid type of malignant pericardial mesothelioma. The patient tolerated the operation and subsequent adjuvant chemotherapy without any complications. She remained alive and asymptomatic for almost 3 years after surgery, despite the fact that the median survival of this disease is 6-10 months. This patient is the second longest postoperative survivor of this extremely rare, aggressive neoplasm.