Influence of comorbidity on the outcome in patients with paranasal sinus cancer

Introduction:

Malignant neoplasms of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus are defined as rare and local aggressive tumours of different entities. More than 50% of the cases are squamous cell carcinomas. Besides entity, the clinical stage of the tumour plays a key role regarding prognosis. Though, influence of comorbidity as a prognostic factor on the overall survival and survival without recurrence has not been sufficiently examined yet.

Methods:

Retrospective analysis of all patients with newly diagnosed paranasal sinus cancer treated at the University Hospital Freiburg between 2002 and 2015. Regarding comorbidity, we classified the patients in groups using the Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity-Score (ACCI) in which both age and previous diseases are considered.

Results:

We included 121 patients in the study (n = 48 female). Median age was 65, the most common histologic subtype was squamous cell carcinoma (n = 61), most common localisation nasal cavity (n = 50) and most common UICC-stage IV (n = 43). 75% of the patients underwent surgery despite of high comorbidity. Most common ACCI-Score 0 (n = 26). Using the median ACCI-Score, patients were classified in two groups with low (ACCI 0 – 2) and high (ACCI≥3) comorbidity. It was shown a statistically significant negative influence of high comorbidity on survival.

Conclusions:

High comorbidity has a statistically significant negative influence on overall and survival without recurrence, which has not been sufficiently considered in tumour therapy up to date. Registration and consideration should hence be an integral part regarding therapy regimes of paranasal sinus cancer. Due to the influence of comorbidity on disease-free survival, patients with higher comorbidity should undergo more frequent follow up examinations.

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 April 2018 (online)