title: Malignant pleural effusion: from bench to bedside.
abstract: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common but serious condition that is related with poor quality of life, morbidity and mortality. Its incidence and associated healthcare costs are rising and its management remains palliative, with median survival ranging from 3 to 12 months. During the last decade there has been significant progress in unravelling the pathophysiology of MPE, as well as its diagnostics, imaging, and management. Nowadays, formerly bed-ridden patients are genotyped, phenotyped, and treated on an ambulatory basis. This article attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of current advances in MPE from bench to bedside. In addition, it highlights unanswered questions in current clinical practice and suggests future directions for basic and clinical research in the field.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals Trust, Oxford, UK ioannis.psallidas@ndm.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Psallidas
authors.affiliation: 1st Dept of Critical Care and Pulmonary Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kalomenidis
authors.affiliation: Pleural Medicine Unit, Dept of Internal Medicine, Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital, Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Porcel
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Australia.
authors.forename: Bruce W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular Respiratory Carcinogenesis, Dept of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Patras, Achaia, Greece Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians University and Helmholtz Zentrum München, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Georgios T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Stathopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays; D006801:Humans; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013906:Thoracoscopy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers