Salivary Duct Carcinoma of the Minor Salivary Gland: A Rare Case Report

Abstract

Salivary duct carcinoma is a rare invasive malignancy arising in the ductal epithelium of the salivary glands. Nearly 85% of the cases occur in the parotid gland followed by submandibular gland. Rarely is it described in the hard palate. Salivary duct carcinomas affecting the minor salivary glands have been reported in only 4% of the SDC cases and constitute 2% of all the salivary gland malignant neoplasms. It is characterized by aggressive behavior with early metastasis, local recurrence and significant mortality. The tumor has predilection for older men in the 6th to 7th decades of life. In this article; we report a case of a salivary gland carcinoma which was present in the right posterior region of the maxilla of a 50 year old female patient. [J Interdiscipl Histopathol 2013; 1(4.000): 222-226

Intraoral salivary duct carcinoma: A case report and a brief review

“…Intraoral SDC is a rare malignant neoplasm, accounting for less than 2% of all malignant minor salivary gland tumors of the oral cavity as reported in a recent series. [ 4 ] To the best of our knowledge, based on evidence in the literature, only 35 cases of SDC have occurred in the minor salivary glands, including the present case[ 1 2 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 ] The male to female ratio reported in these studies is approximately 2:1. The patients ranged from 23-80 years of age, which suggest that, like parotid gland SDC, minor salivary gland SDC occurs primarily in elderly men.…”

“…Although it is difficult to determine the predominant location of SDC in the minor salivary glands because of the limited number of cases, they occurred most frequently on the palate (20 cases) followed by buccal mucosa/vestibule (4 cases), the tongue (2 cases), the maxilla (4 cases), the mandible (1) and the upper lip (1), floor of mouth (1), hypopharynx (1), sinonasal tract (1). [ 1 2 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 ]…”

“…Histologically, SDCs can be confused with metastatic deposits from breast carcinoma, sweat duct carcinoma and prostate carcinoma. [ 7 ]…”

“…Lymph node metastasis is seen in 60% cases, recurrence in 33% cases. [ 7 ] A review of the literature and reported cases suggests that SDC in the minor salivary glands does not frequently spread lymphatically. The rate of lymph node metastases in minor salivary gland SDC is approximately 22%, which is lower than the 83% reported in the literature for major salivary gland SDC.…”

“…[ 4 ] SDC is believed to arise from the excretory ducts or as a result of malignant transformation of ductal cells in pleomorphic adenoma. [ 7 ] The peak incidence of SDCs is in the sixth and seventh decades of life and it is predominant in males. [ 8 ]…”