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Updated: May 24, 2026

Identification of OTX1 and OTX2 As Two Possible Molecular Markers for Sinonasal Carcinomas and Olfactory Neuroblastomas
Published on: February 28, 2019
Pathology of tumours originating in the olfactory cleft
N Boulanger1, R Grosjean, R Jankowski
1ENT Department, CHU, Hôpital Central, Nancy, France.
Unlabelled:
PROBLEMS/OBJECTIVE: This study describes the variety of tumours originating in the olfactory cleft which have been treated with endonasal endoscopic surgery.
Methodology:
The study is a retrospective review covering a seven-year period (2004-2010) of the medical records of all patients in whom a tumour originating in the olfactory cleft was excised (72 patients: 63 men and 9 women; age: average of 61 years; range, 19 to 90 years).
Results:
The most common tumours in the series were adenocarcinoma (43 [60%] patients), inverted papilloma (7 [10%] patients), respiratory epithelial adematoid hamartoma (6 [8%] patients) and olfactory neuroblastoma (5 [7%] patients).
Conclusions:
The olfactory cleft can be identified as a new surgical field for endonasal endoscopic surgery. This anatomic region is amenable to endoscopic evaluation and the excision of tumours. Exenteration of the olfactory cleft appears to be a key technique for removing adenocarcinoma and can be extended to exenteration of the olfactory groove in cases with intracranial extension. Partial exenteration of the olfactory cleft would seem to be a suitable way of removing benign tumours like inverted papilloma or respiratory epithelial adematoid hamartoma.
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