A CASE OF PRIMARY CANCER OF THE SPHENOID SINUS
1972 Volume 15 Issue 6 Pages 751-758,728
Details
1972 Volume 15 Issue 6 Pages 751-758,728
Primary cancer of the sphenoid sinus is very rare. The authors report on a 53-year-old female, who manifested anosmia and pain around the left eye and was found, by a lateral rhinotomy, to have a tumor occupying the sphenoid sinus and both ethmoid sinuses.
Pathological examination showed undifferentiated carcinoma. A search of Japanese literature revealed only 7 cases of primary sphenoid cancer. Primary cancer of the sphenoid sinus is found in the fifties and manifest few nasal symptoms but headache and paralysis of the ocular muscles are common.
Abducens is frequently involved in the early stage because the nerve travels very close to the sphenoid sinus.
Of the 7 cases appearing in the literature 6 were epidermoid carcinoma and one was adenocarcinoma. Prognosis is poor and all of the cases died within 2 years from the initial examinations.
