Tumors and Malignancies of the Nasal Cavity

All of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus tumors constitute approximately 3% of upper respiratory tract tumors and 1% of all tumors. Tumors originating from the nasal cavity are common among sinonasal tumors. In advanced sinonasal tumors, it may be difficult to make a decision on where the tumor has originated from, and for this reason, nasal cavity tumors are frequently grouped together with paranasal tumors. However, the increasing use of endoscopes for diagnostic purposes has enabled diagnosis of nasal cavity tumors at earlier stages, today. In this chapter, tumors originating from the nasal cavity will be discussed in all aspects. For the nasal cavity, the most common benign tumor is inverted papilloma and the most common malign histological type is squamous cell cancer. Malign melanoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma are the following tumors. Since many retrospective studies have covered the treatment results of all tumors belonging to the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, it is difficult to evaluate the results of the nasal cavity distinctively. Most of the nasal cavity tumors are treated by surgery and RT, with a multidisciplinary approach. While treatment by surgery alone is possible in carefully chosen T1N0 patients, RT is recommended following surgery in other patients. Among patients having advanced staged nasal cavity tumors, the survival rate of patients who had been treated by RT in addition to surgery was determined to be better than those who had received RT only. Therefore, in advanced-stage and squamous cell nasal cavity tumors, in addition to surgery, RT following surgery is suggested. Treatment with RT alone is recommended in early stage, poorly differentiated tumors, and adenocarcinomas.