The Current Role of Postoperative Radiation Therapy in Salivary Duct Carcinoma of the Parotid Gland: A Case Series Report and Review of the Literature

Salivary duct carcinoma is a rare and highly malignant tumor of the salivary glands. It has poor prognosis, one of the worst amongst all salivary gland tumors, with high rates of local recurrence and metastasis. Histologically, it is very similar to the ductal carcinoma of the breast, hence its name. We describe five new cases of salivary duct carcinoma of the parotid gland and the therapeutic approach that was followed, concentrating on radiation therapy. Due to the aggressiveness of the tumor, many researchers have suggested that the therapeutic approach should also be aggressive in nature utilizing multiple modalities including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. J Med Cases. 2014;5(7):381-384 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1812w