Videothoracoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma with associated pleural effusions

Between 1985 and 1994 45 of 662 patients examined by thoracoscopy for secondary malignant pleural effusion were diagnosed to have diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mean patient age was 59 years, with a male: female ratio of 5:1. The right hemithorax was more frequently involved than the left (55% versus 45%). Pleural fluid cytology revealed malignancy in 61.5% of cases. All patients were treated thoracoscopically by talc pleurodesis. Mean patient survival was 9.4 months. Survival after one, two, and 5 years was 37.5%, 12.5%, and 5%, respectively. The characteristics of mesothelioma and pleural effusion evident in thoracoscopy and their diagnostic relevance are discussed. We suggest talc instillation as the sole therapeutic maneuver in evolutioned cases, since the literature and our own experience indicate that survival is not significantly prolonged by more aggressive surgical approaches.