[Recurrent breast cancer in patients with controlled malignant cardiac tamponade - two case reports]

The first case involves a 50-year-old woman who had undergone total mastectomy of the left breast due to breast cancer. Two years after the surgery, recurrent disease was detected in the chest wall, which spread to the cervical lymph nodes and bones. After 5 years, the patient developed cardiac tamponade; 760 mL of fluid was removed via percutaneous pericardial drainage, and the pericardium was subsequently injected with OK-432 and adriamycin. No recurring pericardial effusion was noted in the 20-month period before her death. The second case involves a 67-year-old woman. Six years after she underwent a breast-preserving surgery of the left breast, bone metastasis was detected at multiple sites. The patient then developed cardiac tamponade after 11 years; after 900 mL of fluid was drained via percutaneous pericardial drainage, the catheter was removed and no injection was administered. Moreover, no recurring pericardial effusion was noted in the 2-month period before her death.