[Primary mesothelioma of the pericardium with long-term survival]

We report the case of a 52-year-old man admitted to our Hospital for a massive pericardial effusion already discovered at an X-ray examination of the chest more than one year before, but never submitted to further investigation. Four months after a first surgical intervention of "pericardial windowing" and a drainage of 1700 ml of clear pericardial fluid, the patient was again hospitalized because of cardiac tamponade and underwent open pericardial drainage. At inspection, the pericardium and the myocardial muscle were fused in a single mass that at histological examination was discovered to be a primary mesothelioma of the pericardium, epithelial type. We discuss the clinical course and review the scientific literature inherent in these rare cases of primary neoplastic diseases of the heart.