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Psychological Manifestation of Patients with Sinonasal Tumors: An Obscured and Commonly Neglected Aspect of the Disease

Ayotunde James Fasunla and Habeeb Omokanye

The nose and paranasal sinuses occupy the mid portion of the face and are closely related to vital structures like orbit, skull base, cranial nerves, blood vessels etc. (Figure 1) Sinonasal carcinoma is the commonest malignancy of these structures [1,2] and accounts for about 3% of all head and neck malignancies. The hidden nature of the mucosal covering of these structures affected by this tumor contributes to its late clinical manifestation. In most cases, early symptoms are subtle and non-specific; hence, diagnosis is usually made at late stage of the disease [3,4]. Brent et al. [5] documented six month as the average duration between first symptom and diagnosis of sinonasal malignancy [5]. The delay is definitely much longer in developing countries where further delay is caused by poor cancer awareness, traditional and religious believes, poverty, limited and uneven distribution of health resources, and a huge population that over burdens the available diagnostic facilities. Late disease stage presentation characterized most of the patients with sinonasal malignancies in developing countries.