Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2011 Feb;31(1):50-3.
Epub 2010 Dec 29.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma arising from the septum. A very rare nasal tumour

E Iacovou  1 , A Chrysovergis, A Eleftheriadou, I Yiotakis, D Kandiloros
Affiliations
Case Reports

Neuroendocrine carcinoma arising from the septum. A very rare nasal tumour

E Iacovou et al. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2011 Feb.

Abstract
in English, Italian

The case is presented of a 73-year-old male with a history of right-sided nasal obstruction, hyponasal speech and three episodes of recurrent epistaxis. On examination, there was a tumour in the right nasal cavity. Computed tomography showed a mass in the right nasal cavity extending to the right maxillary sinus, ethmoidal cells and right sphenoid sinus. The patient underwent a functional endoscopic removal of the tumour. Biopsy revealed a small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. This is an extremely rare tumour of the nasal cavity and sinuses. Because of the aggressive behaviour of this tumour, he was also treated with combined chemotherapy and radiation. Ten months later, he remains free of disease.

Viene presentato il caso di un uomo di 73 anni con una storia di ostruzione nasale destra persistente, rinolalia chiusa, e tre episodi di epistassi ricorrente. All'esame obiettivo, era presente una neoformazione della fossa nasale destra. La tomografia computerizzata ha evidenziato la presenza di una massa della cavità nasale destra estesa al seno mascellare, alle cellule etmoidali e al seno sferoidale omolaterali. Il paziente è stato sottoposto a rimozione della massa nasale per via endoscopica. L'esame istologico ha evidenziato un carcinoma neuroendocrino a piccole cellule, che rappresenta un tumore estremamente raro delle fosse nasali. A causa del comportamento aggressivo di tale tumore, è stato necessario eseguire un trattamento combinato radio-chemioterapico. Il paziente è libero da malattia a dieci mesi dall'esordio.

Keywords: Malignant tumours; Nasal cavity; Sinuses; Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Intra-operative endoscopic image of the tumour.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Positive synaptophysin immunoreactions in neoplastic cells.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Positive Ki67 immunoreaction in neoplastic cells (90%).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Protocol of the French Cervico-facial Carcinological Society.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Chowdhuri R. Oat cell carcinoma and paranasal sinuses. J Laryngol Otol. 1965;79:253–255. - PubMed
    1. Capelli M, Bertino G, Morbini P, et al. Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the upper airways: A small case series with histopathological considerations. Tumori. 2007;93:499–503. - PubMed
    1. Koss LG, Spiro RH, Hajdu S. Small cell (oat cell) carcinoma of minor salivary gland origin. Cancer. 1972;30:737–741. - PubMed
    1. Rejowski JE, Campanella RS, Block LJ. Small cell carcinoma of the nose and paranasal sinuses. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1982;90:516–517. - PubMed
    1. Hyams VJ, Batsakis JG, Michaels L. Neuroectodermal lesions. In: Hyams VJ, Batsakis JG, Michaels L, editors. Tumors of the upper respiratory tract and the ear. 2nd Series. Washington, DC: AFIP; 1988. pp. 226–257.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources