title: Therapy options and long-term results of sinonasal malignancies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nasal and paranasal sinus malignancies are rare. The most common lesions are located in the nasal cavity and the maxillary sinus, although they also occur in the ethmoid, sphenoid and frontal sinuses. Treatment often combines surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Endoscopic surgical approaches are increasingly used in order to reduce the morbidity associated with standard open resection. The aim of our study was to analyse the long-term treatment results of sinonasal malignancies (SNM), with a special focus on surgical approaches.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of 123 patients treated in a tertiary referral centre from 1992 to 2008 was conducted, which included information on tumour stage, histology, treatment and follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A variety of histological types were found with squamous cell carcinoma being the most frequent (n=38), followed by melanoma (n=24) and adenocarcinoma (n=21). Open surgery was performed in 55 patients, and endoscopic resection was performed in 28 patients. Nineteen patients were treated with primary radiation therapy (RTX), four underwent primary chemotherapy (CTX), and 15 had primary chemoradiation (RCTX). Two patients died prior to therapy onset. A comparison of survival rates did not show a significant difference between the treatment groups. Patients that underwent endoscopic resection had significantly fewer postoperative complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In carefully selected patients, endoscopic surgery of SNM showed a similar outcome as open surgery, but with a significantly lower complication rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: andreas.arnold@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: panagiotis.ziglinas@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ziglinas
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: katharina.ochs@t-online.de.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ochs
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: hno.alter@web.de.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alter
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: andreas.geretschlaeger@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geretschläger
authors.affiliation: Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: kurt.laedrach@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lädrach
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: peter.zbaeren@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zbären
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: marco.caversaccio@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caversaccio
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D010255:Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome