SALIVARY DUCT CARCINOMA

Twelve cases of salivary duct carcinoma were examined clinically, path ologically and by flow cytometry to quantify their histological featur es as well as attempt to identify factors predictive of patient outcom e. All of the tumours arose in the parotid gland. Eight of the twelve patients were male. Four patients died of disease (median survival 12. 5 months); three are alive with disease; and five are alive with no ev idence of disease (mean follow-up of 50 months). Two tumours arose in a pre-existing pleomorphic adenoma. Positive lymph nodes were present in eight of ten patients sampled; patients with two or more positive l ymph nodes tended to die of their disease or be alive with metastases. Comedo necrosis, perineural invasion and vascular invasion were commo n findings by light microscopy. Ten of the twelve tumours were aneuplo id. Neither clinical stage, tumour size, aneuploidy nor histological f eatures correlated with patient outcome. This study confirms the aggre ssive nature of salivary duct carcinoma.