OBJECTIVETo retrospectively compare the survival difference of 20 patients with esthesioneuroblastoma (EN) who received combined therapy, and try to analyze the most optimized modalities.

METHODSTwenty patients of adult ( > or = 14 years) EN received combined therapy in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University from Jan 1998 to Jan 2005. Six patients were staged Kadish B and fourteen patients Kadish C. Twelve of them received induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy while the other 8 received surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. The disease free survival and overall survival rate were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared by Log-rank method. And the baseline characteristics was examined by Fisher's exact test.

RESULTSFollow up from beginning of treatment to 31th March, 2008, the 3-year overall survival rate was 50.0%, the 3-year disease free survival and overall survival rates were 16.7%, 25.0% for chemoradiation group and 75.0%, 87.5% for surgery plus radiotherapy group, respectively. The disease free survival and overall survival rate of the latter group were better than the former (chi2 values were 6.81 and 7.33, P values were 0.0091 and 0.0068, respectively).

CONCLUSIONSSurgery combined with adjuvant radiotherapy may increase the survival rate compared with induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy for local advanced esthesioneuroblastoma. Active surgery combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy may further improve the survival of EN.