Objective: To review our experience with cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy before en bloc resection via a combined neurosurgical and transfacial approach for ethmoid sinus adenocarcinoma reaching and/or invading the skull base.
Design: Case series.
Setting: A tertiary care center and university teaching hospital.
Patients: Twenty-two patients with primary untreated ethmoid sinus adenocarcinoma reaching and/or invading the skull base consecutively treated between 1984 and 1992 with cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and combined neurosurgical and transfacial approach.
Main outcome measures: Statistical analysis of survival, local control, nodal recurrence, distant metastasis, and metachronous second primary tumor incidence based on the Kaplan-Meier actuarial method. Univariate analysis was performed to analyze the relationships between various factors, survival, and local recurrence. Clinical response, histological response, toxic effects of chemotherapy, and postoperative course were also reported.
Results: The Kaplan-Meier 3-year survival, local control, nodal recurrence, and distant metastasis estimates were 68.1%, 65.7%, 5.3%, and 10%, respectively. Metachronous second primary tumor was not encountered in our series. Survival was statistically more likely to be reduced in patients with intrasphenoidal tumor extent (P = .04) and local recurrence (P = .01). Local recurrence was statistically more likely in patients with intrasphenoidal tumor extent (P = .002) and no response to cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P = .03).
Conclusions: The results achieved suggest that cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy before combined neurosurgical and transfacial approach should be further investigated for the treatment of ethmoid sinus adenocarcinoma reaching and/or invading the skull base.