Salivary duct carcinoma responding to trastuzumab-based therapy: Case report and review of the literature

Background Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her-2/neu) is overexpressed in SDC and, hence, HER-2/neu targeted therapy could be an option. Methods A 72-year-old man presented with parotid swelling and cervical lymphadenopathy. He underwent a parotidectomy, modified radical neck dissection, and postoperative chemoradiation with cisplatin. A year later, he developed metastatic disease in the contralateral neck that was treated surgically with right axillary lymphadenopathy. He received radiation to both sites, concurrent with carboplatin. Two years later, he underwent resection of a lung metastasis. He then had progression in the axillary and mediastinal lymph nodes and received 5 cycles of docetaxel and trastuzumab followed by maintenance trastuzumab. Results The patient had a partial response and restaging studies 9 months after therapy discontinuation did not show progression. Conclusion Trastuzumab-based therapy is a potential therapeutic option for patients with SDC. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 35: E372–E375, 2013