Radiotherapy With or Without Surgery for Maxillary Sinus Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Should the Clinical N0 Neck be Treated?

Abstract

Maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma is commonly diagnosed at an advanced stage and treated using radiotherapy, with or without surgical resection.

Fifty-four patients with maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma were treated from 1969 to 2006, using radiotherapy, with or without surgical resection. Fifty-two (96%) patients had American Joint Committee on Cancer stages III to IV disease, and 45 (83%) patients had N0 neck disease.

Five-year local control (LC) rates by T-stage were 63% for T2/T3; and 43% for T4. Five-year LC rates for patients treated with radiotherapy preoperatively, postoperatively, and definitively were 61%, 65%, and 37%, respectively. Initially, overall 5-year LC, neck control, and local-regional control were 49%, 82%, and 45%, respectively. The ultimate 5-year LC, neck control, and local regional control after salvage of failures were 51%, 87%, and 50%, respectively. The overall 5-year cause-specific survival was 41%. Thirty-three percent of patients had a severe complication.

Radiotherapy, with or without surgical resection, remains an effective tool in treating patients with this disease. LC, cause-specific survival, and complication rates need significant improvement. Treatment details and recommendations are discussed herein.