Retrospective analysis of 98 cases of maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma and therapeutic exploration

BACKGROUND: Maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma (MSSCC) is a relatively rare head and neck cancer with poorly defined prognosis, and the present study aimed to investigate the outcomes for MSSCC according to different treatments. METHODS: Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital pathology database was reviewed from 2007 to 2017, and 98 patients with pathologically confirmed MSSCC were enrolled. Retrospective analysis and follow-up were performed for each patient. Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors was performed using Cox’s regression model. RESULTS: For all the 98 cases of MSSCC, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 31.0% and 29.3%, respectively. Among 98 patient, 33 patients were treated with systemic treatment (NON-SUR), 19 patients underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy followed by surgery (CT/RT+SUR), 38 patients received surgery followed by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy (SUR+RT/CT), and 8 patients were performed surgery alone (SUR).The OS rate for each group was 27.3%, 57.9%, 30.6% and 37.5%, respectively, while the DFS was 21.2%, 36.8%, 31.6% and 25.0%, respectively. The OS rate of CT/RT+SUR was significantly higher than that of NON-SUR and SUR+CT/RT groups (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that smoking, low differentiation, and advanced T stage were independent risk factors for OS, while low differentiation and advanced N stage for DFS. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery-based treatment is still the first-line therapeutic strategy for MSSCC. And neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery is highly recommended for MSSCC patients, especially those with advanced tumors or requesting high quality of life.