Paranasal Sinuses and Nasal Cavity Cancer: Different Radiotherapeutic Options, Results and Late Damages

Malignant Tumors of the Nasal Cavity

Malignant tumors of the nasal cavity are rare but interesting lesions because of the heterogeneity of histologic types. From 1951 to 1992, 102 patients with malignant tumors of the nasal cavity have been treated at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histologic type (41 %), followed by malignant melanoma (15%), and adenoid cystic carcinoma (8%). A number of other rare tumors, including hemangiopericytoma, osteosarcoma, acinic cell carcinoma, and teratoid carcinosarcoma were found in single instances. Despite the high proportion of advanced stage disease in patients undergoing planned combined therapy for all histologic types, a 54% overall determinate 5-year survival rate was achieved. The 5-year cure rate for all forms of treatment was 49%. The purpose of this paper is to present our experience and compare the outcome of the various treatment options; the impact of combined surgery and radiation on survival; and the importance of proper patient selection now made possible by CT and MR imaging and endoscopic examination. The evolution of treatment modalities dating to the beginning of this study period and ending with our current techniques for anterior skull base resections is discussed.

Intensity modulated radiotherapy for sinonasal malignancies with a focus on optic pathway preservation

PURPOSE

To assess if intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) can possibly lead to improved local control and lower incidence of vision impairment/blindness in comparison to non-IMRT techniques when treating sinonasal malignancies; what is the most optimal dose constraints for the optic pathway; and the impact of different IMRT strategies on optic pathway sparing in this setting.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A literature search in the PubMed databases was conducted in July, 2012.

RESULTS

Clinical studies on IMRT and 2D/3D (2 dimensional/3 dimensional) RT for sinonasal malignancies suggest improved local control and lower incidence of severe vision impairment with IMRT in comparison to non-IMRT techniques. As observed in the non-IMRT studies, blindness due to disease progression may occur despite a lack of severe toxicity possibly due to the difficulty of controlling locally very advanced disease with a dose ≤ 70 Gy. Concurrent chemotherapy's influence on the the risk of severe optic toxicity after radiotherapy is unclear. A maximum dose of ≤ 54 Gy with conventional fractionation to the optic pathway may decrease the risk of blindness. Increased magnitude of intensity modulation through increasing the number of segments, beams, and using a combination of coplanar and non-coplanar arrangements may help increase dose conformality and optic pathway sparing when IMRT is used.

CONCLUSION

IMRT optimized with appropriate strategies may be the treatment of choice for the most optimal local control and optic pathway sparing when treating sinonasal malignancy.

Malignant neoplasms of the sinonasal tract: report of 71 patients and literature review and analysis

BACKGROUND

The present study aimed to report the characteristics, prognostic factors, and treatment outcomes of 71 cases of malignant neoplasms of the sinonasal tract and literature review and analysis of major report series.

METHODS

Seventy-one consecutive patients diagnosed with primary malignant neoplasm of the sinonasal tract that were treated and followed up at a university hospital between May 2000 and March 2008 were selected for the present study. Thirty-four patients were treated with surgery followed by a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, 15 with surgery alone, 14 with combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy, six with radiotherapy alone, and two with surgery followed by radiotherapy. To find out the major series of related studies over the last 20 years, a literature review of PubMed was performed. In all, we found 42 major series including 8,164 patients with malignant neoplasms of the sinonasal tract.

RESULTS

There were 35 women and 36 men ranging in age from 5 to 80 years, with a median age of 55 years at diagnosis. The primary sites included were paranasal sinuses in 51 and nasal cavity in 20. There were one case of stage I, 20 of stage II, 27 of stage III, and 23 of stage IV. Epithelial tumors constituted 65% of all neoplasms. After a median follow-up of 39 months for surviving patients, 33 patients are alive and without disease, eight are alive with disease, and 30 patients died due to disease. Local recurrence was the most frequent treatment failure. The 5-year disease-free, local control, and overall survival rates were 42.1%, 59.5%, and 54.5%, respectively. On univariate analysis, cervical lymph nodes involvement, primary tumor size, histologic type, response to therapy, and stage of disease were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. In the literature review and by analyzing the data collection from 42 major reported series, the median age was 57 years and male/female ratio was 1.8. Epithelial tumors consisted of 69% of all malignant neoplasms of sinonasal tract and stages III and IV disease constituted 74.7% of all stages. Local recurrence was the dominant treatment failure in nearly all series. Five-year local control and overall survival rates were 56% and 45.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In this review and by analyzing the large data collection of recent major reported series, we found that malignant neoplasms of the sinonasal tract tend to present at locally advanced stage, with a high frequency of local failure and a moderate to poor outcome. More effective local treatment for improving the local control and overall survival is needed.

Long-term radiotherapy outcomes for nasal cavity and septal cancers

PURPOSE

Carcinoma of the nasal cavity and septum has historically been associated with a poor prognosis. This report updates the long-term outcomes for radiotherapy (RT) of this disease site at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A retrospective analysis was performed on the data from 68 patients diagnosed with histologically proven carcinoma of the nasal cavity or septum treated with RT for curative intent between 1969 and 2000. The disease histologic type was as follows: 45 (66%) had squamous cell carcinoma, 12 (18%) had adenoid cystic carcinoma, 8 (12%) had adenocarcinoma, and 3 (4%) had poorly/undifferentiated carcinoma. Of the 68 patients, 32 (47%) had received definitive RT. Of these, 23 had received external beam RT and 9 brachytherapy. Of the remaining 36 patients, 3 (4%) underwent preoperative external beam RT and 33 (49%) postoperative external beam RT. Of the 68 patients, 13 (19%) received neck RT. The median dose for patients receiving definitive and postoperative RT was 65 and 58.2 Gy, respectively. The median follow-up for the entire cohort was 11 years (range, 2.4-30.1 years).

RESULTS

Of the 68 patients, 19 (28%) developed a locoregional relapse, 14 (21%) locally and 5 (7%) regionally. The local control rate at 5 and 10 years was 86% and 76%, respectively. The disease-specific survival rate was 86% and 78%, and the overall survival rate was 82% and 62% at 5 and 10 years, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This extended follow-up of our institutional experience has demonstrated that RT can provide durable long-term locoregional control and survival outcomes for patients with carcinoma of the nasal cavity and septum.

Nasal and paranasal sinus carcinoma: are we making progress? A series of 220 patients and a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The authors reviewed treatment results in patients with nasal and paranasal sinus carcinoma from a large retrospective cohort and conducted a systematic literature review.

METHODS

Two hundred twenty patients who were treated between 1975 and 1994 with a minimum follow-up of 4 years were reviewed retrospectively. A systematic review of published articles on patients with malignancies of the nasal and paranasal sinuses during the preceding 40 years was performed.

RESULTS

The 5-year survival rate was 40%, and the local control rate was 59%. The 5-year actuarial survival rate was 63%, and the local control rate was 57%. Factors that were associated statistically with a worse prognosis, with results expressed as 5-year actuarial specific survival rates, included the following: 1) histology, with rates of 79% for patients with glandular carcinoma, 78% for patients with adenocarcinoma, 60% for patients with squamous cell carcinoma, and 40% for patients with undifferentiated carcinoma; 2) T classification, with rates of 91%, 64%, 72%, and 49% for patients with T1, T2, T3, and T4 tumors, respectively; 3) localization, with rates of 77% for patients with tumors of the nasal cavity, 62% for patients with tumors of the maxillary sinus, and 48% for patients with tumors of the ethmoid sinus; 4) treatment, with rates of 79% for patients who underwent surgery alone, 66% for patients who were treated with a combination of surgery and radiation, and 57% for patients who were treated exclusively with radiotherapy. Local extension factors that were associated with a worse prognosis included extension to the pterygomaxillary fossa, extension to the frontal and sphenoid sinuses, the erosion of the cribriform plate, and invasion of the dura. In the presence of an intraorbital invasion, enucleation was associated with better survival. In multivariate analysis, tumor histology, extension to the pterygomaxillary fossa, and invasion of the dura remained significant. Systematic review data demonstrated a progressive improvement of results for patients with squamous cell and glandular carcinoma, maxillary and ethmoid sinus primary tumors, and most treatment modalities.

CONCLUSIONS

Progress in outcome for patients with nasal and paranasal carcinoma has been made during the last 40 years. These data may be used to make baseline comparisons for evaluating newer treatment strategies.

Cancer of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. A clinico-pathological study of 277 patients

In the period 1963-1991, a total of 277 consecutive patients with malignant tumours of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses were treated at Aarhus University Hospital. The major histological types included squamous cell carcinoma (46%), lymphoma (14%), adenocarcinoma (13%), and malignant melanoma (9%). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year corrected survival (death from cancer) showed the best prognosis for adenoid cystic carcinoma (87%), adenocarcinoma (65%) and lymphoma (56%), and the poorest prognosis for undifferentiated carcinoma (17%) and malignant melanoma (24%). The 5-year corrected survival for squamous cell carcinoma was 35%. Of the 180 patients with treatment failure, the vast majority occurred locally (n = 166); a minor proportion was regional (n = 23) or distant (n = 30). For the 195 patients with carcinoma, the following parameters were of statistical prognostic significance (5-year corrected survival): histological differentiation (moderate-well 65% vs. poor 22%), primary T-site (nasal cavity 56% vs. maxillary antrum 39% vs. other sinuses 24%), tumour stage (T2 68% vs. T3 37% vs. T4 29%), nodal stage (N0 48% vs. N1-3 21%), treatment (radiotherapy + surgery 56% vs. radiation alone 35%).

Management of advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the maxillary sinus

From 1970 to 1988, 41 cases of advanced maxillary sinus cancers were treated at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Local control for the 37 evaluable patients was achieved in 21 (57%). Local control by radiation therapy alone was achieved in ten of 19 (53%) patients compared with eight of 14 (57%) treated with a combination of surgery and radiation therapy. A dose greater than 6500 cGy correlated with better local control in patients treated with radiation therapy alone. Neck node failure occurred in three of 35 (8%) patients when not electively treated. Neck metastasis either at presentation or at a later stage reduced survival. The overall absolute survival for the entire group at 5 years was 35%. A combination of preoperative radiation therapy and surgery is recommended for patients with advanced-stage maxillary sinus cancer. Radiation therapy is an equally good alternative for those who are not surgical candidates or refuse surgery.

Maxillary sinus carcinomas: natural history and results of postoperative radiotherapy

Between 1969 and 1985, 73 patients with maxillary sinus cancers underwent surgical excision and postoperative radiotherapy. The clinical stage distribution by the AJC system was 3T1, 16T2, 32T3, and 22T4. Six patients had palpable lymphadenopathy at diagnosis. Surgery for the primary tumor consisted of partial or radical maxillectomy, and if disease stage indicated it, ipsilateral orbital exenteration. This was followed by radiation treatment delivered through a wedge-pair or three-field technique. All but three patients received 50-60 Gy in 2 Gy fractions to an isodose line defining the target volume. Elective neck irradiation was not routinely given. Clinically involved nodes were treated with definitive radiotherapy (five patients) or combined treatment (one patient). Forty-five patients had no evidence of disease at the last follow-up. The 5-year relapse-free survival for the whole group was 51% The overall local control rate was 78%. Patients with larger tumors, particularly if they also had histological signs of nerve invasion, had a higher recurrence rate than others. The overall nodal recurrence rate without elective neck treatment was 38% for squamous and undifferentiated carcinoma, and only 5% for adenoid cystic carcinomas. Therefore, our current recommendation is to deliver elective nodal irradiation routinely to patients with squamous or undifferentiated carcinoma, except for those who have T1 lesions. Treatment complications were vision impairment, brain and bone necrosis, trismus, hearing loss, and pituitary insufficiency. The incidence of major side effects was determined by disease extent and treatment technique. Many technical refinements were introduced in order to limit the dose to normal tissues in an attempt to reduce the complication rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Squamous carcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses

This study retrospectively analyzed 105 patients with squamous carcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. The primary tumor was located in the maxillary sinus in 65 patients (62 percent), the nasal cavity in 27 (26 percent), the ethmoid sinus in 11 (10 percent), and the sphenoid sinus in 2 (2 percent). Over half of the patients with antral cancer were treated with surgery and radiotherapy, whereas one-third of the remaining patients received combination therapy. Most procedures were radical, including sacrifice of the orbital contents in half of the surgically treated patients. The 5-year determinate cure rate was 45 percent for patients with nasal cavity tumors, 38 percent for those with maxillary sinus lesions, and 13 percent for those with ethmoid tumors. Local recurrence remains a major problem despite aggressive surgery and increased use of adjunctive radiotherapy.