Debahuti Mohapatra1 , Ajit Surya Mohapatra2 , Santosh Kumar Swain3
BACKGROUND Sinonasal tumours are highly heterogeneous group of tumours that account for less than one percent of all malignancies. Because of varied morphology & their undifferentiated nature, clinicoradiological & histopathological correlation along with ancillary studies is very much essential for a definite diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate various lesions arising in the sinonasal tract and nasopharyngeal region with special reference to clinico-radiological correlation and ancillary studies for a definite diagnosis of sinonasal and nasopharyngeal tumours. METHODS A total 122 cases of non-neoplastic & neoplastic lesions occurring in sinonasal tract and nasopharynx were studied over a period of two years. All the paraffin embedded blocks of the cases were subjected to routine haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain, followed by special stain & immunohistochemistry (IHC) as per requirement. RESULTS The study showed 52 cases (42.62%) of non-neoplastic lesions of which inflammatory sinonasal polyp was the commonest; 21 cases (17.21%) were benign & 49 cases (40.16%) were malignant tumours. The commonest benign tumour was Schneiderian papilloma (33.32%) whereas among the malignant the commonest being nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC, 40.81%), small blue round cell tumours (SRBCT, 24.48%), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC, 20.40%) followed by sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC, 8.16%). CONCLUSIONS Tumours of the sinonasal and nasopharyngeal region are very much diverse & undifferentiated by histomorphology, hence pose a diagnostic challenge for a pathologist using conventional histopathologic approaches only. Thus, aid of ancillary techniques like IHC, molecular / cytogenetic studies are immensely helpful in establishing diagnosis for early intervention, in order to prevent significant morbidity & mortality especially in malignant tumours.
