Single-sided sinonasal mass: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE: A unilateral sinonasal mass is a common pathology in ear, nose, and throat clinical practice. However, it may be confused with early stage inflammatory pathologies. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic histopathological, clinical, and radiological criteria for a unilateral nasal mass. METHODS: The present study examined the clinical and pathological profiles of unilateral sinonasal masses observed in patients at an ear, nose, and throat clinic in Istanbul between January 2008 and January 2016. During the period of this retrospective study, 195 patients presented with a single-sided sinonasal mass (males: 130, females: 65; age range: 9-93 years). The data analyzed were obtained from patient records. RESULTS: The single-sided sinonasal mass was benign in 187 (95.9%) cases and malignant in 8 (4.1%) cases. Inflammatory polyps (81.03%) were the most frequent benign finding. Squamous cell carcinoma (1.54%) was the most commonly diagnosed malignant lesion. CONCLUSION: A single-sided sinonasal mass is commonly detected by otorhinolaryngologists. Although most often the diagnosis is inflammatory nasal polyposis, the risk of malignancy should not be overlooked. For this reason, careful endoscopic examination should be performed, all lesions should undergo a pathological examination, and it should be kept in mind that neoplastic disease can occur at any age and may be associated with many symptoms.