Metastatic HER-2-positive salivary gland carcinoma treated with trastuzumab and a taxane: a series of six patients.
Metastatic salivary gland carcinoma is a rare malignancy. A subset of these tumors overexpresses the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), which is considered a poor prognostic marker. Targeted therapy with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab can be a treatment option in these patients. We describe six cases of metastatic salivary gland carcinoma treated with trastuzumab in combination with a taxane. Three of these patients had salivary duct cancer, two had mucoepidermoid carcinoma and one patient was treated for acinic cell carcinoma. The therapy was well tolerated. We observed five partial responses and a median progression free survival of 10.8 months, which compares favorably with the reported outcome of combination chemotherapy. One patient achieved a complete and durable remission. When HER-2 and androgen receptor were co-expressed, trastuzumab-based treatment appeared to be more active than androgen deprivation in our experience.
a Departments of General Medical Oncology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Katrien
K
De Block
b Departments of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, Section Head and Neck Oncology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Vincent
V
Vander Poorten
c Departments of Maxillofacial Surgery , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Titiaan
T
Dormaar
d Departments of Radiation Oncology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Sandra
S
Nuyts
e Departments of Pathology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Esther
E
Hauben
e Departments of Pathology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Giuseppe
G
Floris
f Departments of Nuclear Medicine of the Leuven Cancer Institute , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Christophe M
CM
Deroose
a Departments of General Medical Oncology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Patrick
P
Schöffski
a Departments of General Medical Oncology , University Hospitals Leuven and KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.
Paul M
PM
Clement
D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001952:Bridged-Ring Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D043823:Taxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068878:Trastuzumab / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001952:Bridged-Ring Compounds; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D043823:Taxoids; D000068878:Trastuzumab; C080625:taxane; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human
HER-2; Salivary gland tumor; Trastuzumab