Background: Inverted papilloma (IP) is an uncommon sinonasal tumor. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is associated with IP in about 7% of cases. To date, there has been no pooled analysis to formulate a survival outcome associated with this rare condition.
Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with IP and SCC treated at our institution during 1999-2007. Including our series, a systematic review of literature on Medline database and pooled analysis were performed to establish a survival estimate.
Results: Six patients were identified. Squamous cell carcinoma was metachronous to the initial diagnosis of IP in 1 case and synchronous in 5 cases. Of 5 patients who had completed therapy at the time of this report, only 1 remained disease-free at 74 months. The median overall survival in our series was 33 months. Three patients developed distant metastases in brain, lung, bone, and liver. Literature review and pooled survival analysis consisting of 76 cases indicated a median overall survival of 126 months with 3- and 5-year survival rates of 63% and 61%, respectively.
Conclusion: Although the survival outcome of SCC arising from IP seems comparable with sinonasal SCCs, some patients with this disease do have a highly aggressive disease, including hematogenous distant metastasis. Overall, about 40% of patients will die of the disease within the first 3 years.