Malignant tumors of the nasal cavity: review of a 60-case series.

Sixty cases of primary malignant tumor of the nasal cavity treated in our hospital between 1962 and 1993 were reviewed. Males were affected 2.8 times more frequently than females. The age at the first consultation ranged from 11 to 92 years, with a mean of 55.1 years. The peak distribution was seen in the 6th decade. Twenty-six cases were epithelial malignancies (squamous cell carcinoma 15; adenocarcinoma 3; adenoid cystic carcinoma 3; undifferentiated carcinoma 3; mucoepidermoid carcinoma 1; malignant mixed tumor 1), while 34 cases were non-epithelial malignancies (malignant melanoma 14; malignant lymphoma 14; plasmacytoma 3; olfactory neuroblastoma 2; rhabdomyosarcoma 1). The most common symptom on presentation was nasal obstruction (66.7%), followed by epistaxis (55.0%). The first recurrence was local in 19 patients, whereas cervical lymph node metastasis occurred in three patients, bone metastasis in two, intraperitoneal metastasis in two, and brain metastasis in one. The overall five-year cumulative survival rate was 48.0%. The five-year survival rates for squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and malignant lymphoma were 57.0%, 31.0%, and 40.0%, respectively.