[Ethmoid adenocarcinoma: a series of 17 cases].
BACKGROUND
Ethmoid adenocarcinoma are and represent rare, 2.5 to 3% of head and neck cancers. The 5-year survival is around 50% for all stages. We present a series of 17 patients treated in our institution.


OBJECTIVE
Expose the treatment of these patients and evaluate the results.


METHODS
A retrospective study of 17 consecutive patients, treated between 1992 and 1999 for an ethmoid adenocarcinoma (15 T4 and 2 T2) and evaluated in 2002, with a mean follow-up of 5.8 years.


RESULTS
In May 2002, 4 (23.53%) patients were alive and disease-free, 3 (17.65%) were alive with recurrence and 10 (58.82%) was died. The 5-year survival with Kaplan Meyer method is 41%.


CONCLUSIONS
This series demonstrates the contribution of a combined approach for T3 and T4 tumors. The bifrontal approach induced an important morbidity in our series and should be replaced by the nasofrontal approach. Most teams agree that postoperative radiotherapy is necessary but the appropriateness of chemotherapy is still discussed. Some authors are of the opinion that it has no action on adenocarcinoma and others that it improves survival. It seems to have been efficient in our T4 patients.
Guillotte-van Gorkum
M L
ML
Service d'ORL du CHU de Reims, Hôpital Robert Debré, Avenue du Général Koenig, 51092 Reims Cedex. cferron@chu-reims.fr
Nasser
T
T
Mérol
J C
JC
Legros
M
M
Rousseaux
P
P
Chays
A
A
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005005:Ethmoid Sinus; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010255:Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate