Sinonasal Quality of Life Outcomes after Minimally Invasive Resection of Sinonasal and Skull Base Tumors

Background: Minimally invasive endoscopic resection (MIER) has emerged as the standard for surgical management of benign and malignant sinonasal and skull base neoplasms. The objective of the present study was to assess sinonasal quality of life (QOL) and to analyze factors that impact symptomatology after surgery. Methods: Single-institution observational cohort study was performed on 94 patients over a 3-year period.

Results: The mean age of 55.2 years, with male:female ratio of 1.5:1. Benign and malignant tumors were observed in 48% and 52%, respectively. The cohort's mean preoperative Sinonasal Outcome Test score (SNOT-20) was 1.27, decreasing to 0.91 (p = 0.002) 6-months postoperatively. Patients with benign neoplasms had a lower mean preoperative SNOT-20 score at 1.11 that decreased to 0.58 (p = 0.002), while patients with malignant tumors had a higher mean preoperative SNOT-20 score of 1.27, decreasing to 1.03 (p = 0.134) 6 months postoperatively. The SNOT-20 scores for females improved 0.53 (p = 0.002) compared with 0.23 (p = 0.154) for males at 6-months. Statistically significant sinonasal QOL improvement was noted in non-smokers (0.62, p = 0.0006), patients with no prior radiation or chemotherapy (0.59, p = 0.0029), and patients with no prior surgery (0.51, p = 0.0012). Multiple variable regression analysis demonstrated that the two strongest predictors for lack of SNOT-20 improvement were previous history of smoking (p < 0.05) and prior radiation and/or chemotherapy (p < 0.01) (R2 = 0.24).

Conclusion: MIER results in overall improvement in SNOT-20 scores, with greater change being noted in females and in patients with benign tumors. Prior smoking and chemoradiation strongly predict decreased improvement in sinonasal QOL after surgery.