Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report

Abstract Background Esophageal rupture is a rare but life-threatening condition. Esophageal tumours do not usually cause esophageal ruptures, and elevated tumour markers have rarely been detected in pleural effusion after esophageal rupture with no detectable tumour. The presence of elevated tumor m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Huaimin Liang, Xiaoning Li, Zhengliang Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13019-025-03539-y
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849761232045735936
author Huaimin Liang
Xiaoning Li
Zhengliang Wei
author_facet Huaimin Liang
Xiaoning Li
Zhengliang Wei
author_sort Huaimin Liang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Esophageal rupture is a rare but life-threatening condition. Esophageal tumours do not usually cause esophageal ruptures, and elevated tumour markers have rarely been detected in pleural effusion after esophageal rupture with no detectable tumour. The presence of elevated tumor markers in pleural effusion can lead to a misdiagnosis of esophageal cancer in patients with esophageal rupture, resulting in inappropriate treatment. Case presentation The 65-year-old male patient who was admitted to the emergency department with left chest pain and dyspnoea after severe vomiting. Chest computed tomography (CT) indicated left hydropneumothorax and mediastinal emphysema. The patient underwent bedside closed thoracic drainage. The drainage fluid was coffee-coloured and turbid, with significantly elevated CA199, CA125 and CEA levels. After transferring the patient to the emergency operating room, the esophageal defect was repaired, and a jejunostomy was performed. No tumours were detected in the thoracic cavity during surgery. The patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Conclusion Esophageal tumours should be suspected in patients with elevated pleural effusion CA199, CA125 and CEA levels. The findings from chest CT and oesophagography did not support the diagnosis of a thoracic tumor.These tumor markers may be concomitant changes during esophageal rupture.
format Article
id doaj-art-0a424d5c4cab4bea8a0842e080d62b07
institution DOAJ
issn 1749-8090
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
spelling doaj-art-0a424d5c4cab4bea8a0842e080d62b072025-08-20T03:06:05ZengBMCJournal of Cardiothoracic Surgery1749-80902025-07-012011610.1186/s13019-025-03539-yElevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case reportHuaimin Liang0Xiaoning Li1Zhengliang Wei2Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shengzhou People’s HospitalDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Ward 2, Shengzhou People’s HospitalDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shengzhou People’s HospitalAbstract Background Esophageal rupture is a rare but life-threatening condition. Esophageal tumours do not usually cause esophageal ruptures, and elevated tumour markers have rarely been detected in pleural effusion after esophageal rupture with no detectable tumour. The presence of elevated tumor markers in pleural effusion can lead to a misdiagnosis of esophageal cancer in patients with esophageal rupture, resulting in inappropriate treatment. Case presentation The 65-year-old male patient who was admitted to the emergency department with left chest pain and dyspnoea after severe vomiting. Chest computed tomography (CT) indicated left hydropneumothorax and mediastinal emphysema. The patient underwent bedside closed thoracic drainage. The drainage fluid was coffee-coloured and turbid, with significantly elevated CA199, CA125 and CEA levels. After transferring the patient to the emergency operating room, the esophageal defect was repaired, and a jejunostomy was performed. No tumours were detected in the thoracic cavity during surgery. The patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Conclusion Esophageal tumours should be suspected in patients with elevated pleural effusion CA199, CA125 and CEA levels. The findings from chest CT and oesophagography did not support the diagnosis of a thoracic tumor.These tumor markers may be concomitant changes during esophageal rupture.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13019-025-03539-yBiomarkers, tumorCase reportHydropneumothoraxMediastinal emphysemaEsophageal perforation
spellingShingle Huaimin Liang
Xiaoning Li
Zhengliang Wei
Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report
Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Biomarkers, tumor
Case report
Hydropneumothorax
Mediastinal emphysema
Esophageal perforation
title Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report
title_full Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report
title_fullStr Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report
title_full_unstemmed Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report
title_short Elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture: a rare case report
title_sort elevated tumour markers in the pleural effusion of a patient with spontaneous esophageal rupture a rare case report
topic Biomarkers, tumor
Case report
Hydropneumothorax
Mediastinal emphysema
Esophageal perforation
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13019-025-03539-y
work_keys_str_mv AT huaiminliang elevatedtumourmarkersinthepleuraleffusionofapatientwithspontaneousesophagealruptureararecasereport
AT xiaoningli elevatedtumourmarkersinthepleuraleffusionofapatientwithspontaneousesophagealruptureararecasereport
AT zhengliangwei elevatedtumourmarkersinthepleuraleffusionofapatientwithspontaneousesophagealruptureararecasereport