Malignant pericardial mesothelioma following thoracal radiotherapy; dissemination from pericardium to pleura.

Malignant pericardial mesothelioma (MPeM) is a rare, primary pericardial tumor of mesodermal-origin. With respect to the etiology of MPeM, a history of exposure to asbestos has not been clearly demonstrated. MPeM is difficult to diagnose because of the non-specificity of the clinical complaints and symptoms. A known effective treatment does not exist and the prognosis is poor. In this case study, the possible etiologies of MPeM are discussed based on the extant literature. We report herein a patient with MPeM and no history of asbestos exposure who had chemo-radiotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and in whom a tumor spread from the pericardium through the pleura.