Radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy of nasopharyngeal angiofibroma and immunohistochemical analysis of vessel proliferation: a case report.
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.
Krstulja
Mira
M
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Brace Branchetta, Rijeka, Croatia. mirak@medri.hr
Kujundzić
Milodar
M
Halaj
Adelaida
A
Braut
Tamara
T
Cvjetković
Niko
N