Abstract

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a malignant epithelial tumor extremely rare in minor salivary glands. This manuscript describes two cases of SDC of the minor salivary glands with different clinical behaviors. The first patient was an 80-year-old man who had SDC (T1N0M0) in the upper buccal fornix and the second patient was a 64-yearold man with a tumor (T2N2cM0) in the soft palate. Patients were treated with radical surgical resection and none patient underwent postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Histopathologically, the lesions showed proliferation of ductal cells with varying degrees of nuclear pleomorphism arranged in solid and cribriform structures and prominent comedonecrosis. The patient with SDC in the soft palate developed metastases and died shortly after diagnosis while the patient with SDC in upper alveolar ridge is alive without disease for over 6 years of follow-up. Although SDC is aggressive, anatomical site and precocious diagnosis are relevant factors for better prognosis.

Keywords: Salivary duct carcinoma; Minor salivary gland; Alveolar ridge; Soft palate