Epithelial sinonasal carcinoma – tumor characteristics, therapy and outcome

Introduction:

The majority of sinonasal carcinomas are epithelial tumors. The aim of this study was the evaluation of tumor and therapy specific factors influencing the outcome.

Methods:

Retrospective analysis of incident cases of epithelial sinonasal carcinoma treated at our hospital between 2002 and 2015.

Results:

87 patients were included in the study (31 female, 56 male). Median age was 65 years. The histologic subtypes were squamous cell carcinoma (n = 64), followed by adenocarcinoma (n = 12), adenoidcystic carcinoma (n = 10) and basalioma (n = 1). Most tumors were located in the nasal cavity (n = 38). The most frequent UICC-stages were IV (n = 25) and I (n = 24). Tumor resection was performed in 68 patients followed by (chemo-)radiotherapy in 38 cases. Lymph node involvement occurred only in 6 patients. 32 patients had recurrence of disease, mostly local failure (n = 17); 16 of them within the first 12 months after tumor diagnosis. Early-stage carcinoma (UICC I/II) lead to a significantly improved overall survival (p = 0.03) compared to advanced-stage carcinoma (UICC III/IV). Patients with initially complete resection showed improved survival compared to patients with additional resection (p = 0.04).

Conclusions:

Sinonasal carcinoma affect mostly men at an advanced age. They tend to local aggressive growth and often grow to large size before they become apparent. Neck metastases are rare. Local tumor control is crucial to reduce the high number of tumor recurrence. Frequent examination for detection of early tumor recurrence is an important part of follow up.

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 April 2018 (online)