Anterior Skull Base Osteoradionecrosis in the Age of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy: A Case Series

Abstract

Background: Despites advances in radiation technology, skull base osteoradionecrosis (ORN) continues to be a rare, devasting, and hard to treat complication of radiotherapy. We present three cases of anterior skull base ORN in a cohort treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Case Series: Three patients developed anterior skull base ORN after receiving at least one round of IMRT. ORN was diagnosed through either nasal endoscopy or imaging findings. The first was a 59-year-old woman with a sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma. Her chemoradiation history was notable for re-irradiation and a high dose of radiation (143.3 Gy). The second was a 55-year-old man with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma, whose history was notable for a high dose of radiation (~140 Gy) and for being re-irradiated. The final patient was a 37-year-old woman with an unremarkable history who received radiotherapy (65.0 Gy) for an esthesioneuroblastoma. One patient was asymptomatic and did not receive ORN-specific therapy. The other two were treated with a combination of medical and surgical intervention with successful short-term outcomes (no evidence of infection). Conclusion: Anterior skull base ORN can be treated through conservative and surgical means to achieve successful short-term outcomes. Further investigation of long-term outcomes is warranted.