title: Radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy of nasopharyngeal angiofibroma and immunohistochemical analysis of vessel proliferation: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nasopharyngeal angiofibroma presents with symptoms of nasal obstruction and epistaxis. The treatment of choice is embolization followed by surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 52-year-old man underwent surgery for nasopharyngeal angiofibroma after adjuvant radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of angiofibroma with clinical follow-up after thermocoagulation therapy supported by quantitative, double immunohistochemistry. We found this case of angiofibroma to be of interest owing to the presentation of symptoms leading to biopsy, the pathohistological observations obtained with synchronous Ki67/cluster of differentiation 34 and Ki67/smooth muscle actin immunohistochemistry and high pericyte proliferation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Coagulation of angiofibroma vessels followed by acquisition of a thick mantle of pericytes in a patient with a nasopharyngeal growth suggests that radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy could be a useful, palliative therapy for bleeding nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, supporting vessel maturation prior to surgical tumor removal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Brace Branchetta, Rijeka, Croatia. mirak@medri.hr
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krstulja
authors.forename: Milodar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kujundzić
authors.forename: Adelaida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Halaj
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Braut
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cvjetković