Malignant thoracoabdominal effusion is one of the common complications of advanced gynecologic malignancies, especially ovarian epithelial carcinoma, which is asymptomatic and not easily detected in the early stage, and most patients are already in the advanced stage when they are seen, often combined with thoracoabdominal fluid. Effective control of malignant thoracoabdominal effusion is particularly important to improve symptoms, enhance patient’s survival quality and increase the sensitivity of systemic chemotherapy. In our department, 34 patients were enrolled from July 1995 to May 1996 in a prospective study of the treatment of malignant thoracoabdominal effusion with elecampane. Except for 4 patients in whom the efficacy could not be evaluated, the remaining 30 patients could be evaluated for efficacy.