Malignant epithelial tumours of the external ear: A treatment evaluation

Primary epithelial tumours of the pinna and external auditory canal is very rarely seen in otological practice. In most cases, it may be difficult to find the site of original tumor because of late diagnosis. This paper is being presented to highlight the aggressive nature of the tumour from this area and discuss its management. Material and methods: The author has reported twelve cases of such tumours from pinna and external auditory canal which were treated by different modalities of treatment namely, radiotherapy followed by surgery and primary surgery alone. Surgical procedures include procedures from Sleeve resection of external auditory canal to artial temporal bone resection. Post operative morbidity was less in sleeve resection and partial temporal bone resection for T1, T2 and T3 tumours compared to T4 tumours. All patients who received a preoperative radiotherapy had a better disease free survival. Due to the rarity of these tumors and delay in diagnosis, surgery and radiation therapy represent a life saving attempt at their management. Our case series shows a disease free survival when pre-operative radiation was given prior to surgery.