Salivary duct carcinoma.

Salivary duct carcinoma is an uncommon malignant tumor that occurs mainly in the parotid gland of elderly men. The 11 cases of salivary duct carcinoma which are included in this study occurred in older men (mean age 56 years) and were located in the parotid (7), submandibular salivary gland (2), and the minor salivary glands in the maxilla (2). The maximum tumor dimension ranged from 3 to 9 cm. Microscopically, all had infiltrating margins, with circumscribed groups of epithelial cells arranged in various patterns; the invasive component was embedded in a desmoplastic stroma. Perineural invasion and lymph node metastasis were noted in seven and three cases, respectively, at the time of initial surgery. Radical surgery was offered to ten patients and postoperative radiotherapy to nine patients. Salivary duct carcinoma appears to be an aggressive tumor with distinctive histological features, which has not been described in the minor salivary glands of the maxilla to date. The clinicopathologic features of these tumors are presented, with a review of the literature.