title: Carcinoma of the salivary glands: guidelines and case report of sustained remission with docetaxel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Salivary glands tumours are rare neoplasms for which there are few clinical trials. The most common malignant parotid tumour is the mucoepidermoid carcinoma. High-grade mucoepidermoid carcinomas are highly aggressive tumours. The initial therapy of localized disease is known, but when there is a recurrence, several options are possible and chemotherapy is generally reserved for palliative treatment. We comment on published guidelines and report a case of sustained remission with docetaxel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our case concerns a 64-year-old woman with a high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland with local recurrence treated with docetaxel 50 mg/m² every 15 days. After the sixth cycle, a complete remission was observed on CT-scan. The tolerability was excellent. After 2 years of docetaxel, the patient was still in complete remission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Docetaxel is an active drug for the treatment of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands. A prospective study should confirm these data.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Oncologie Radiothérapie, Hôpital Tenon, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, GHU Est, Université Paris VI, Paris, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arrondeau
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Le Nagat
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lefèvre
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tassart
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Touboul
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lacau St Guily
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huguet
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018277:Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000077143:Docetaxel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012074:Remission Induction; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012796:Sialography / Q000379:methods; D043823:Taxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel
keywords: chemotherapy; docetaxel; mucoepidermoid carcinoma; parotid carcinoma; recurrence