Sinonasal malignancies: a 10-year review in a tertiary health institution

Sinonasal malignancy is a cause of otorhinolaryngologic morbidity and mortality in West Africa. However, there is a dearth of information in the literature on its clinicopathologic presentation in West Africa. It is our aim to determine the prevalence of sinonasal malignancy and highlight the clinicopathologic features in our environment. A 10-year retrospective review of cases with histologically diagnosed malignant sinonasal tumors in University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria was carried out. There were 82 cases-56 (68.29%) males and 26 (31.71%) females-whose ages ranged from 4-69 years. Epistaxis, rhinorrhea and nasal blockage were seen in all patients; other symptoms were facial [76 (93%)], oral cavity [48 (59%)], ophthalmic [33 (40%)] and [otologic 21 (25%)]. Squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 69/75 (92%) of epithelial tumors, and malignant lymphoma accounted for 4/7 (57%) of nonepithelial tumors. Advanced disease was the predominant presentation in our series, stage 3 in 59 (79%) and stage 4 in 12 (16%) cases. Therefore, health education on early presentation to hospitals and efforts at early detection of the disease are needed in order to achieve cure. Industrial workers should always wear face masks to protect their nasal cavity.