Salivary duct carcinoma: Prospective multicenter study of 61 cases of the Réseau d'Expertise Français des Cancers ORL Rares

BACKGROUND: The purposes of this study were to describe the characteristics of a prospective multicenter series of patients with salivary duct carcinoma and to investigate prognostic factors. METHODS: Patients included for salivary duct carcinoma between 2009 and 2016 in the Reseau d'Expertise Francais des Cancers ORL Rares (REFCOR) database were selected. Immunohistochemical analyses were performed. RESULTS: Sixty-one patients were included in this study. The primary site was the parotid gland in 90% of the cases. Fifty-seven percent of the tumors were stage IV, 65% of patients had lymph node involvement, and 10% had metastases. Tumors showed androgen receptor (89%) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu (36%). Ninety-four percent of patients underwent surgery and 86% had postoperative radiotherapy. Six patients were treated with targeted therapies. The 3-year overall survival (OS) was 74% and the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 44%. Tumor stages III to IV reduced DFS (hazard ratio [HR] 4.3; P = .04). The N2/3 class reduced distant metastasis-free survival (HR 7.3; P = .007). CONCLUSION: Salivary duct carcinoma prognosis is poor and is correlated with tumor stage and lymph node classification. Androgen receptor and HER2/neu should be tested as they offer the possibility of targeted therapies.