A nasal tumour is an abnormal mass of cells growing inside the nasal passages or the sinuses next to the nose. They can be noncancerous or cancerous.
Noncancerous nasal tumours include nasal polyps and haemangioma. Haemangioma is a growth of blood vessels in the nasal lining.
Cancerous nasal tumours can include sarcoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, neuroblastoma, adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. These are named based on where they start, usually in a layer of skin.
There are two types of nasal masses: a nasal tumour and a paranasal tumour.
A nasal tumour begins in the nose and a paranasal sinus tumour begins in the sinuses that run alongside the nose. Nasal masses are considered rare, with only 3% to 5% of cancers starting in the nose or paranasal sinuses.
Tumours in the nose happen when the genes that control cell growth and division are mutated, causing cells to grow at an abnormally fast rate. It’s unclear why specific genetic mutations affecting cell growth occur.
Risk factors for nose tumours, specifically, include being over the age of 55, being of Caucasian descent, being assigned male at birth, and exposure to tobacco smoke, wood dust, and other lung irritants, like chemicals in the air.
If your doctor suspects you may have a nasal tumour, they will ask you about your medical history and any current or recent symptoms you’ve been experiencing. They may perform some tests to confirm the presence of a nasal or paranasal tumour. These include:
The main complication of nasal and paranasal tumours include metastasis, or spreading of the tumour, if it goes untreated.
There are different options for treating a tumour in the nose, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The most common approach to treatment includes a combination of these treatments.
Surgery can help remove as much as the tumour as possible, including parts of the body where the tumour has spread.
Radiation therapy may be used before surgery to shrink the size of the tumour or after surgery to ensure that any remaining cancer cells are gone. It is used more often than chemotherapy when treating nasal tumours. Chemotherapy involves cancer medication given intravenously.
There’s no way to completely prevent nasal tumours, but the risk can be reduced by avoiding smoking and avoiding inhaling harmful chemicals and fumes. If you work in an environment where there are safety hazards in the air, make sure to wear protective gear like a mask at all times.