Paranasal sinus malignancies: an 18-year single institution experience

To characterize a single institution experience with management of paranasal sinus malignancies during an 18-year time period, report long-term survival rates, and identify prognostic factors.

Retrospective chart review.

Studied were 141 patients treated for a paranasal sinus malignancy at a single institution from 1980 to 1997 with a minimum 3-year follow-up. Gender, age, TNM stage, anatomic site, pathology, treatment, and recurrence rates were reviewed. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine factors affecting survival.

The male to female ratio was 1.6:1, and the median patient age was 60 years. Most patients presented with T3/T4 or locally advanced disease (88%), N0 status (96%), and M0 status (96%). The maxillary sinus was the most commonly affected site (70%), followed by the ethmoid sinus (26%). The most common malignancy was squamous cell carcinoma (51%), followed by adenoid cystic carcinoma (12%) and adenocarcinoma (11%). Sixty-two percent of this study group underwent surgery as part of a multimodality curative treatment plan or alone as curative treatment. Eighteen patients (13%) had unresectable local disease and received non-surgical palliative treatment. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed the 5-year and 10-year disease-specific survival was 52% and 35%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed T4 stage (P =.005), N-positive stage (P =.009), and M-positive stage (P =.018) negatively impacted survival. Seventy-two patients (51%) developed recurrent disease at a median time of 336 days after initial treatment.

Most patients with paranasal sinus malignancies presented with locally advanced disease. Advanced T stage, regional, and distant metastasis are highly predictive of poor survival. Recurrence rate is high and typically occurs within the first year after treatment.