Malignancy-associated serosanguinous pleural effusions
Broghamer, W.L.; Richardson, M.E.; Faurest, S.E.
Acta Cytologica 28(1): 46-50
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-5547 PMID: 6582738 Document Number: 227683
Cytologic preparations of 786 pleural effusions from 495 patients were reviewed, including 312 specimens from 172 cancer patients. Approximately 50% of the paraneoplastic effusions were sanguinous. Thoracic cancer was histologically confirmed in 145 patients, 64% of whom had cytologically positive pleural effusions; 71% of these specimens were also macroscopically bloody. Regardless of any histologic evidence of neoplastic invasion of the pleura, the presence of blood in the majority of the effusions was related most often to acute inflammatory reactions with vascular dilatation and proliferation within serosal tissues or the underlying pulmonary parenchyma.