Paranasal Sinus Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma: A SEER Database Analysis

Paranasal sinus tumors are rare malignancies that are known to be aggressive with poor outcomes. Data are limited regarding factors associated with survival and prognosis. In this study, we investigated factors associated with survival for both patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC).

The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data was utilized from the years 2000 to 2019. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression modeling were employed to evaluate the relationship between several co-variates and overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) among patients with SCC and AC.

A total of 5276 patients with SCC and 5222 patients with AC were included. Compared to SCC patients, those with AC were younger and presented with less differentiated and more advanced tumors (p < 0.0001). The median OS for SCC was 203 months compared to the 56 months in patients with AC (p < 0.0001). Primary site, race, stage, grade, and treatment modalities utilized were significantly predictive of OS and DSS in SCC patients in univariate analysis. Among AC patients, we found stage, grade, and treatment modalities to be significantly predictive of OS and DSS in univariate analysis. For SCC, stage (p < 0.001), primary site (p < 0.001), and treatment (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of survival on multivariate analysis. Specifically, nasal SCC was found to have improved survival compared to other sites. For AC, stage (p < 0.001) and treatment (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of survival on multivariate analysis. For both SCC and AC, treatment with both radiation and surgery had improved survival compared to radiation alone (p < 0.0001).

SCC and AC of the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity portend an overall poor prognosis with limited survival. Our study effectively elucidates factors associated with survival which may be useful in treatment and counseling patients with paranasal sinus AC and SCC.