Neoplastic cardiac tamponade (NCT) is a life-threatening complication of cancer. The interval between cancer diagnosis and NCT onset and the prognosis after pericardiocentesis may differ according to cancer type.,We performed a retrospective study of 113 patients (54 % male) with NCT who underwent pericardiocentesis at Niigata Cancer Center Hospital between 1992 and 2013. Mean age at NCT was 61.2 years (range 15.9-94.8 years). The most common underlying cancers were lung cancer (59.2 %), breast cancer (21.2 %), lymphoma/leukemia (5.3 %), and gastric/esophageal cancer (5.3 %). The median time from cancer diagnosis to NCT onset was 9.0, 60.4, 5.6, and 8.0 months for lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma/leukemia, and gastric/esophageal cancer, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were worse for breast cancer patients with NCT than for matched breast cancer patients without NCT (P < 0.0001). Median survival time after pericardiocentesis was 2.9, 4.2, 2.3, and 0.6 months for lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma/leukemia, and gastric/esophageal cancer, respectively; one-year survival after pericardiocentesis was 6.0, 16.7, 33.3, and 0 %, respectively.,The interval between cancer diagnosis and NCT onset, the impact of NCT on prognosis, and the prognosis after pericardiocentesis differed according to cancer type. Healthcare practitioners caring for patients with NCT should recognize the differences between cancer types and customize their care accordingly.