Published online Jun 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i12.2610
Peer-review started: January 20, 2020
First decision: April 1, 2020
Revised: April 24, 2020
Accepted: May 23, 2020
Article in press: May 23, 2020
Published online: June 26, 2020
There are many disputes about the definition, diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of collision tumors.
We describe a rare patient with a collision tumor consisting of neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus. She received operation, concurrent chemoradiotherapy, and then two cycles of palliative chemotherapy. Follow-up at 12 mo after diagnosis showed that this patient experienced a complete response with no signs of recurrence or metastasis. A literature review of previous 26 cases diagnosed with collision tumor of NEC and SCC in the head and neck was also undertaken.
It is challenging to manage collision tumors because there are two morphologically and etiologically distinct tumors. Well-designed multimodality therapy including surgery and chemoradiotherapy might lead to a long survival in these patients.
Core tip: It is rare to see collision carcinoma composed of squamous carcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) in the head and neck region. In this paper, we present a case of squamous cell carcinoma and NEC colliding in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus. Besides, 26 cases of collision carcinoma in the head and neck were also reviewed to further comprehend the multimodality therapy of collision carcinoma.