Case report
An endonasal approach to the resection of a papillary seromucinous adenocarcinoma of the Eustacian tube
1 Department of Otolaryngology, Schulich School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
2 Department of Pathology Schulich School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
3 St Joseph's Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology, 268 Grosvenor St, London, ON, N6A 4V2, Canada
Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 2013, 42:12 doi:10.1186/1916-0216-42-12
Published: 4 February 2013Abstract
Objectives
Papillary seromucinous adenocarcinoma of the sinonasal tract is exceedingly rare. The objectives of this case report are to describe a case of papillary seromucinous adenocarcinoma presenting in the nasopharynx and to review the literature pertaining to other similar cases.
Methods
A review of the patient's chart and a review of the English literature were conducted.
Results
We describe the case of a 64 year-old woman who presented with a 3-year history of epistaxis and right-sided otitis media with effusion. The patient had been followed for a known nasopharyngeal mass that had twice been biopsied and in both cases was considered a benign mass pathologically. A third biopsy was diagnosed as a low-grade papillary seromucinous adenocarcinoma. The patient was otherwise asymptomatic. The patient was referred to a multidisciplinary cancer clinic at which endoscopic resection was determined to be the preferred treatment modality. A literature review and approach to patients with nasopharyngeal masses will be presented.
Conclusions
Papillary seromucinous adenocarcinoma is a rare tumor that can present in the nasopharynx. We describe the endoscopic surgical management of one such patient that presented to our care.
