Home > Cancer and Treatments > Head & Neck Cancers

Sinus Cancer

Definition

Sinus Cancer (also known as cancer of the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity) occurs when cancer cells are found in the tissues of the paranasal sinuses or nasal cavity. The paranasal sinuses are small hollow spaces around the nose. The sinuses are lined with cells that make mucus, which keeps the nose from drying out; the sinuses are also a space through which the voice can echo to make sounds when a person talks or sings. The nasal cavity is the passageway just behind the nose through which air passes on the way to the throat during breathing. The area inside the nose is called the nasal vestibule.

Getting Diagnosed / Treatment

This cancer is treated at the U-M Cancer Center in the Head and Neck Cancer Clinic.

The Head and Neck Oncology Program coordinates research efforts related to sinus cancer.

Read about:

How does sinus cancer develop?

Sinus cancer, cancer of the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity most often starts in the cells that line the the throat at the back of the mouth. It may also begin in the soft palate, at the base of the tongue, or the tonsils.

Less often, cancer effecting the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity may begin in the color-making cells called melanocytes, and is called a melanoma. If the cancer starts in the muscle or connecting tissue, it is called a sarcoma. Another type of cancer that can occur here, but grows more slowly, is called an inverting papilloma. Cancers called midline granulomas may also occur in the paranasal sinuses or nasal cavity, and they cause the tissue around them to break down.

Symptoms

See your doctor for any of the following problems:

Diagnosis

A doctor first examines the nose using a mirror and lights, and sometimes using a rhinoscope or a nasoscope. A CT scan (a type of x-ray using a computer) or an MRI scan (an x-ray-like procedure using magnetic energy) to create an image of the inside of the nose / nasal passages.

If abnormal tissue is found, the doctor will cut out a small piece to examine under a microscope, checking for cancer cells (this is called a biopsy).

Treatment

Three kinds of treatment are used:

Surgery is most commonly used. Depending on where the cancer is and how far it has spread, bone and/or tissue around the cancer may need to be removed. If the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the neck, the lymph nodes may be removed.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may be delivered by a machine (external radiation therapy) or by putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy). Learn more about UMHS Radiation Oncology.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells, and may be taken by pill, or it may be administered by a needle in a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. Learn more about chemotherapy at the Cancer Center.

Still have questions?

Contact the Cancer AnswerLine through their webpage or at 800-865-1125.

Return to the top of the page

Adjust text size

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

This site is part of the U-M Health System. The information presented is not a tool for self diagnosis or a substitute for professional care. © 2008 U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center