Sinonasal adenocarcinomas: Retrospective analysis from an oncology center

Sinonasal adenocarcinomas are rare and heterogeneous tumors and for this reason remain understudied. Our purpose is to analyze clinical presentation, outcomes and factors affecting survival of patients with sinonasal adenocarcinomas, treated at our institution.

Retrospective review of clinical records of patients with sinonasal adenocarcinoma, treated at a tertiary oncology institution (January 2010 to December 2019).

Sixty patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma were included, with male preponderance (54.90%) and a mean age of 57.5±14.9 years. Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent type of sinonasal cancer, contrary to previous reports from our institution. In most patients, it was detected at an advanced disease stage, significantly decreasing their survival rate when compared to patients diagnosed at initial stages (p<0.029). Intestinal type adenocarcinoma was established in 47 patients, the most frequent being the colonic subtype (24%). Tumors with good/moderate histologic differentiation presented a survival advantage over those that were poorly differentiated (p=0.043). The most common treatment modality was surgery followed by radiotherapy. Endoscopic resection was performed in 53% of the patients and an external approach was used in 40% of the patients. Estimated overall survival rates at 3 and 5-years were 64% and 53%, respectively, and cancer specific survival 72% and 65%, for the same period. Recurrence rate was 32% and occurred mainly locally. Disease Free Survival rate was 71% at 3 years and 65% at 5 years.

Despite being the most common sinonasal malignancy in our sample, in contrast to other series, sinonasal adenocarcinomas are still rare tumors with a substantial local failure rate of around 30%. Advanced stage at diagnosis and histologic differentiation grade negatively affected prognosis of these tumors.