Esthesioneuroblastoma: 25-year experience at a single institution

Objectives: To evaluate outcomes for patients with esthesioneuroblastoma treated at a single institution during a 25-year period. Design: Eighteen patients with pathologic diagnosis of esthesioneuroblastoma between 1980 and 2004 were retrospectively identified. Results: Two patients had Kadish A, seven had Kadish B, and nine had Kadish C disease. The mean follow-up was 71 months. Treatment regimens consisted of surgery alone (four patients), surgery followed by postoperative radiation (six patients), surgery followed by postoperative chemoradiotherapy (three patients), preoperative radiotherapy (two patients), preoperative chemoradiotherapy (one patient), chemoradiotherapy (one patient), and surgery plus chemotherapy (one patient). Surgical approaches (n = 17) consisted of 13 traditional craniofacial resections, one endoscopic-assisted cranionasal resection, and three minimally invasive endoscopic resections. The 10-year disease-specific survival was 80%. The overall recurrence-free survival at five and 10 years was 62% and 46%, respectively. Positive surgical margins and TNM staging predicted survival. Conclusion: Both endoscopic and open surgical approaches have been successful in treating a small number of esthesioneuroblastoma patients with high survival and low rate of surgical complications.