Histopathological Characteristics of Nasal Polyps in Smokers

Objective Cigarette smoking causes squamous metaplasia in upper and lower airways. We hypothesized that in patients with nasal polyposis, nasal polyps of smokers might reveal histopathological changes, and there might be an increased neoplasia risk. Therefore, we aimed to explore the effects of smoking on nasal polyp histopathology and clinical measures. Method This retrospective chart review consists of 30 smoker and 47 nonsmoker patients with nasal polyposis who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery between 2007 and 2011. We aimed to assess the effect of smoking on histopathological characteristics of nasal polyps and clinical measures. They were compared according to light microscopic findings. Results No statistically significant differences were found between smoker and nonsmoker groups with regard to histopathological findings ( P >. 05). Also, there were no significant correlation defined by endoscopy, computed tomography, and Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scores of patients between the 2 groups ( P >. 05). Smoking did not have significant effect on the presence of allergy or asthma. But blood eosinophil levels were found to be significantly higher in the smoker group ( P <. 05). Conclusion This is the first clinical study that investigates the effect of smoking on nasal polyp histopathology. In spite of the fact that smoking is associated with histopathological changes in respiratory mucosa, we did not find any significant change in histopathological characteristics of nasal polyps in smokers.