Clinicopathological study of sinonasal lesions at King Hussein Medical Center

Abstract EN

Objectives : to study the results of 160 biopsies taken from the nose and Para nasal sinuses.

The percentage and distribution of benign and malignant tumors according to age, sex and site of origin were assessed.

Methods : this is a retrospective study of 160 patients with nasal lesions surgically treated in the ENT department at King Hussein Medical Center between January 1990 and December 1997.

Biopsy results were retrieved from histopathologically reports while preoperative diagnoses, medical history, results of clinical examination, radiological studies, treatment and its outcome, were all retrieved from medical charts.

Results : out of 160 patients submitted to nasal biopsy, there were 130 patients (81 %) with non-neoplastic lesions.

The most common non-neoplastic lesions were nasal polyps (62 patients, 48 % of all nasal biopsies).

Twenty patients (13 %) had benign neoplastic lesions.

The most common benign nasal neoplasm taken for biopsy was inverted papilloma (10 patients, 50 %).

Ten patients (6 %) had malignant masses ; however, the most common malignancy was squamous cell carcinoma (6 patients, 60 % > of all nasal biopsies) No evidence of malignancy was reported in 100 % of patients who were preoperatively diagnosed as bilateral nasal polyps.

Conclusion : preoperative diagnosis based on proper clinical examination was consistent with the histopathologically diagnosis in most cases.

Preoperative nasal endoscopy, CT-scan or MRI are mandatory when a neoplastic lesion is suspected to evaluate the extent of the tumor and to properly plan for surgery.

Any tissue removed from the nose should be sent for histopathologically analysis.