Open AccessA case of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome caused by malignant melanoma in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus
Author(s) -
Nobuhiro Asai,
Yoshihiro Ohkuni,
Yasutaka Kawamura,
Norihiro Kaneko
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of cancer research and therapeutics/journal of cancer research and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 0973-1482
pISSN - 1998-4138
DOI - 10.4103/0973-1482.113384
Subject(s) - medicine , nasal cavity , obstructive sleep apnea , sinus (botany) , hypopnea , airway obstruction , sleep apnea , surgery , melanoma , biopsy , paranasal sinuses , airway , polysomnography , apnea , radiology , anesthesia , botany , cancer research , biology , genus
A 71 year-old obese woman complained of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) related symptoms. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 73.5/hour. She presented with nasal bleeding to an ENT doctor. A mass on the nasal septum was seen and biopsy was performed. Histological confirmation showed malignant melanoma. The tumor stage proved to be cT4aN2M1 (stage IV) due to multiple metastatic lesions. After palliative irradiation, the nasal tumor was reduced in size and her symptoms of OSAS were improved. The second AHI revealed 13.5/hour. This case was considered to be OSAS caused by a tumor obstructing the nasal cavity. This might suggest the necessity of routine work-up of the upper airway in cases of patients with sleep disorder. Otherwise, OSAS caused by such obstruction might be missed. We report a very rare case with secondary OSAS caused by malignant melanoma in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus.