Salivary duct carcinoma: diagnostic clues, histology and treatment

Salivary duct carcinoma is a very rare, highly-malignant epithelial tumour. We present a case of a 75-year-old man with a rapidly- growing salivary duct carcinoma in the parotid gland, of one month's evolution. Histopathologically, salivary duct carcinoma is characterised by its resemblance to ductal carcinoma of the breast. It usually develops aggressively with possibilities of early distant metastasis and local recurrence. The tumour is managed with total parotidectomy, ipsilateral neck dissection and adjunctive radiation. In advanced cases, we recommend treatment with anti-Her-2 monoclonal antibodies such as trastuzumab.