Inflammatory Pseudotumor of Nasopharynx: The Great Mimicry
Keywords:
inflammatory pseudotumor, nasopharynx, head and neck, benignAbstract
Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) of the nasopharynx is a rare differential diagnosis for nasopharyngeal masses, often mimicking nasopharyngeal carcinoma both clinically and radiologically. We report a case of a 40-year-old male who presented with a one-year history of chronic, throbbing headache followed by a six-month history of spontaneous bilateral epistaxis, which had increased in frequency. Nasal endoscopy showed a midline mass over nasopharynx extending to the right fossa of Rosenmuller. Contrast-enhanced CT paranasal sinuses show an ill-defined, heterogeneous enhancing mass within nasopharyngeal mucosal space with evidence of base of skull erosion. Multiple biopsies of the nasopharyngeal mass revealed inflamed granulation tissue with no evidence of malignancy, and tissue cultures were negative for microbial growth. The patient was treated as IPT as a diagnosis of exclusion, receiving high-dose corticosteroids for a total of six weeks, resulting in a significant clinical improvement. Given its aggressive behavior, which mimics malignancy both clinically and radiologically, IPT should be considered as one of the differentials, despite its rare occurrence
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