Carcinoma of the nasal septum: experience with 85 cases.

A review of 85 Mayo Clinic patients with carcinoma of the nasal septum revealed squamous cell carcinoma (58 patients) to be the predominant cell type, with adenocarcinoma (12 patients) and malignant melanoma (7 patients) being next in frequency. Twenty-five (29%) of the 85 patients had metastatic disease. Twenty percent (17) of the patients had another malignancy at some time during their lives. The study suggests that tobacco smoking may have a role in the etiology of squamous cell carcinomas of the nasal septum. In most patients, wide excision was the initial choice of treatment.