Sinonasal adenocarcinoma with aggressive ocular symptom

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND. The malignant sinonasal tumour is very rare. Sinonasal adenocarcinoma comprises only 10-20% of all primary malignant sinonasal tumours. The commonest type is the maxillary squamous cell carcinoma. It commonly presents with nasal blockage, nasal discharge and epistaxis during the early stage. Headache and blurry vision may occur at an advanced stage when it has invaded the brain, the eye or the optic nerve. CASE REPORT. We present a 63-year-old patient with acute progressive worsening unilateral blurry vision and headache for 1 month. Epistaxis with anosmia developed only later. The patient had a neuroimaging by both Computed Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan which showed a skull base tumour, but early biopsy was inconclusive. He underwent combined transcranial and transsphenoidal tumor debulking in view of clinical impression of olfactory neuroblastoma. The histopathological examination showed adenocarcinoma. He was sent for postoperative radiotherapy. CONCLUSION. We highlighted that a patient with sinonasal adenocarcinoma may present initially with the symptom of invasion to neighbouring structures prior to the local symptom.