Extended Surgery for Advanced Maxillary Sinus Carcinoma

Abstract

Maxillary sinus carcinoma is a relatively uncommon head and neck tumor. It makes up 3% of head and neck malignancies. The commonest histology is squamous cell carcinoma, although adenoid cystic carcinoma, acinic cell tumor, and adenocarcinoma are not uncommon. These are primarily epithelial neoplasms arising in the mucosal lining of the sinus. Primary tumors of bone such as osteogenic sarcoma, ameloblastoma, and chondrosarcoma arise in the skeletal elements of the sinus. Consideration must also be given to those malignancies that arise from adjacent tissue and invade the maxilla and the maxillary sinus by direct extension. Examples of these are aggressive and neurotropic skin tumors such as basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma, which may invade the maxilla by extending along the vascular and neural foramina of the orbit and maxillary face. Direct extension of oral cavity tumors, such as carcinoma of the alveolar ridge, and nasal cavity tumors, such as esthesioneuroblastoma, and inferior extension of ethmoidal malignancies further exemplify spread from contiguous sites.