Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma with Intracranial Extension

Aim: To report our experience in the management of sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) over a period of 15 years.

Study Design: A retrospective case review of 13 patients with SNUC treated at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center (UCDMC) Center for Skull Base Surgery, over the past 15 years.

Results: Most tumors arose in the ethmoid sinuses. All but 1 patient had a combined intracranial-extracranial resection through the anterior fossa-transcranial route and postoperative irradiation. The 13th patient had a transfacial subcranial approach. There are 6 who have survived free of disease at 14 years' to 8 months' follow-up. The average follow-up was 6 years, 3 months. One patient died of a pulmonary embolism in the first postoperative week, a second died of a bowel infarction 3 months postoperatively. Three patients died of their disease at 20, 18, and 8 months postoperatively: 1 with local recurrence and distant metastasis and the other 2 with local control but distant disease. The 6 survivors are at 8, 20, 28, 62, 84, and 105 months.

Conclusion: SNUC is a rare malignancy of the paranasal sinuses with a poor prognosis. Radical surgery and adjunctive therapy can achieve good survival in a significant proportion of patients who would hitherto have seemed incurable.