Preoperative nasal irrigation in patients with tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses for non-invasive cytological diagnostics and prediction of the tumor entity

Introduction Tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses represent a rare entity of the head and neck region and account for about 3% of all malignant diseases in this area, with often advanced stages at diagnosis and correspondingly poor prognosis of the affected patients. Against this background, early diagnosis is of particular importance, which should be achieved by non-invasive liquid-based lavage cytology (LBC) in the presented study.

Material/Methods: In n=30 patients with an endonasal tumor disease, preoperative nasal irrigation and LBC-based preparation of the obtained cytological material was performed. After subsequent PAP and, if necessary, supplementary immunocytochemical stainings, the cell suspensions were examined for the presence of tumor-suspect cells and their morphology, and the result was compared with the histological findings.

Results In all 30 patients tumor cells were detected morphologically by LBC. In immunocytology, these cells could be further characterized with respect to the tumor entity with a concordance of the immunoreactivity of specific tumor markers with the histopathological findings in all patients. Thus, a correct LBC-based diagnosis was possible in all patients.

Discussion Differential cytological analysis of tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, with excellent correlation with histopathological findings, can provide non-invasive and significantly faster (<24 h) information about the entity of a tumor, paving the way for a more efficient treatment planning.

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Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023