Endoscopic resection of sinonasal malignancies

Abstract

Malignant tumors of the sinonasal tract are rare, accounting for only 1% of all malignancies. Although they are associated with substantial histological heterogeneity, surgery plays a key role in their management. This review addresses the evolution of current treatments in view of the introduction of endoscopic resection techniques. The absence of facial incisions and osteotomies, decreased hospitalization time, better control of bleeding, improved visualization of tumor borders, and reduced morbidity and mortality rate are the major advantages of endoscopic techniques in comparison to traditional external approaches. The major criticisms focus on oncologic results in view of the short/intermediate follow-up of large series, which have commonly grouped together several histologies that may be associated with different prognoses. Since prospective studies contrasting the results of endoscopic and craniofacial resections are difficult to carry out given the rarity of the disease together with ethical issues, the creation of a large database would favor the analysis of several variables related to the patient, tumor, and treatment on survival performed on a large number of patients.