Introduction: A case is reported of primary transitional-cell carcinoma in the frontal sinus of a 54-year-old woman, which was interesting because of the histological type, evolution, and difficulty of follow-up.
Clinical case: A 54-year-old woman with no history of exposure to risk factors presented swelling of the frontal area of 3 months duration. Fine needle aspiration biopsy revealed an adenoma but TAC showed an intrasinusal tumor with destruction of the inner and outer walls. Surgical exeresis revealed the correct histological diagnosis. Local recurrence at 12 months, without cervical lymph nodes or distant metastases, was treated surgically and the patient remained asymptomatic and disease-free 24 months later.
Discussion: Malignant tumors of the frontal sinus are rare in the literature. We describe the histological features of transitional-cell tumor and emphasize its similarity with papilloma, benign behavior and management options, in which surgery is of choice. Prognostic and survival factors in the literature are reviewed.