An unusual case of low-grade tubulopapillary adenocarcinoma of the sinonasal tract

BACKGROUND: Low-grade papillary adenocarcinomas of the sinonasal tract are rare neoplasms. Over recent years, little doubt remains that this tumour represents a separate entity based on morphology, ultrastructural features and behaviour. We outline a case of this rare entity displaying a not hitherto described immunophenotype. CASE PRESENTATION: A 32 year old man presented recurrent epistaxis was evaluated with endoscopy which revealed a well circumscribed pedunculated mass lesion in left nares. The mass was arising from the nasal septum which was excised along with the mass. The biopsy revealed low-grade, non-intestinal type sinonasal tubulopapillary adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: TTF-1 immunoreactivity in absence of thyroid or pulmonary primary in the present case remains an enigma. However, this raises the possibility of the utility of this antibody to predict a better clinical outcome in the subset of low grade non-intestinal sinonasal adenocarcinoma. More cases of similar morphological appearance may need to be examined for TTF-1 immunoreactivity and clinically followed up to establish this theory.