BACKGROUND : Epithelial neo­plasms are uncommon lesions affect­ing the sino-nasal tract.
AIM : To study the incidence, mode of presentation and histological types of sino-nasal epithelial tumours in the surgical pathology material and surgical procedures and outcome.
MATERIALS AND METHODS : All sino-nasal epithelial tumours, biop-sied or surgically excised over a peri­od of six years, were studied. The tu­mours were classified as benign or malignant. The histology was correlat­ed with the clinical presentation, in­vestigations, surgical procedures and outcome.
RESULTS : In six years, there were 139 sino-nasal tumours. One hundred one epithelial tumors (72.6%) outnumbered the non-epithelial tumours were diagnosed on the basis of histopathology. Forty-five were benign (44.5%) and 56 malig­nant (55.5%); occurring predominant­ly in males. Benign lesions included three fungiform papillomas (exophyt-ic) (6.6% of the benign tumors) and 42 inverted papillomas, with recur­rence in five inverted papillomas (11.9%). Malignant changes were de­tected in two cases of inverted papil­lomas (4.8%) at initial surgery and in one of five recurrent cases (20%). En-doscopic and external approaches were of equivalent results. Squamcus cell carcinomas were the commonest among malignant tumours with thirty cases(53.2%)