Pericardial Window Operation in Oncology Patients: Analysis of Long-Term Survival and Prognostic Factors

Pericardial effusion (PE) is a serious condition in cancer patients, primarily arising from malignant dissemination. Pericardial window formation is a surgical intervention for refractory PE. However, the long-term outcomes and factors associated with postoperative survival remain unclear.

We retrospectively analyzed data from 166 oncology patients who underwent pericardial window formation at Samsung Medical Center between 2011 and 2023. We analyzed survival and PE recurrence regarding surgical approach, cancer type, and cytopathological findings. To identify factors associated with survival, we utilized Cox proportional-hazards regression.

All patients had tumors documented in accordance with the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual, including lung (61.4%), breast (9.6%), gastrointestinal (9.0%), hematologic (3.6%), and other cancers (16.4%). Surgical approaches included mini-thoracotomy (67.5%) and thoracoscopy (32.5%). Postsurgical cytopathology confirmed malignancy in 94 cases (56.6%). Over a median follow-up duration of 50.0 months, 142 deaths and 16 PE recurrences occurred. The 1-year overall and PE recurrence-free survival rates were 31.4% and 28.6%, respectively. One-year survival rates were significantly higher for thoracoscopy recipients (43.7% vs. 25.6%, p=0.031) and patients with negative cytopathology results (45.1% vs. 20.6%, p<0.001). No significant survival difference was observed between lung cancer and other types (p=0.129). Multivariate analysis identified New York Heart Association class, cancer stage, and cytopathology as independent prognostic factors.

This series is the largest to date concerning window formation among cancer patients with PE. Patients' long-term survival after surgery was generally unfavorable. However, cases with negative cytopathology or earlier tumor stage demonstrated comparatively high survival rates.