Facial disfigurement due to olfactory neuroblastoma: beauty regained with chemotherapy

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a sinonasal malignancy seldom seen in clinical practice. It is also known by various other names like esthesioneuroblastoma, esthesioneuroepithelioma, esthesioneurocytoma, and esthesioneuroma. Surgery and radiation therapy are considered as standard treatment modalities for ONB; however, the role of chemotherapy is not well established.

We aim to define the role of chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting in a case of ONB.

We report a young female patient presenting with a naso-facial swelling causing facial disfigurement, proptosis, decreased visual acuity, and poor performance status. She was diagnosed with advanced-stage ONB. Prompt administration of chemotherapy led to the improvement in the symptoms and rapid regression of the tumor mass. Later on, the tumor mass was excised completely without any neurological deficit.

This report justifies the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of ONB.