Relative risk factors in the treatment of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma.

The potentially fatal complications associated with surgery and radiation therapy in the management of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) are analyzed. Quantitative risk factors established from review of the literature suggest a risk of potentially fatal complications of 1 in 3,000 from general anesthesia, 1 in 1,600 from arteriography, 1 in 160 from blood transfusion, and 1 in 500 from the surgical procedure itself. The total of these risks is comparable to the 1% lifetime risk of developing a radiation-induced tumor after radiation therapy. The time pattern of these complications differs in that fatal radiation-induced complications are delayed, whereas the risks associated with surgery, general anesthesia, and blood transfusion are more immediate. However, it is suggested that treatment-related risks of fatal complications are of a similar order of magnitude for surgery and for radiation therapy in the management of JNA.