Background: Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a highly malignant tumor of the salivary gland.
Methods: Twenty-six cases observed during the period 1975 to 1994 were selected from the pathology archives of the Instituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan. A review of all the similar cases published in the literature and comparison with the present series was performed.
Results: SDC was mainly a parotid gland tumor diagnosed at an advanced stage. Lymphatic involvement seems to be related to T stage. Distant spread was evidently related to the presence of lymph node metastasis. Surgery with radiotherapy was the standard treatment. The only demonstrable negative prognostic factor was the presence of node metastases (p = 0.01).
Conclusions: Most patients died of disseminated disease in spite of an aggressive and often successful local-regional treatment. The role of a prophylactic ipsilateral neck dissection and adjunctive systemic treatment should be investigated.