Carcinoma of the salivary glands: guidelines and case report of sustained remission with docetaxel

Summary What is known and 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. Case summary 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. What is new and conclusion Docetaxel is an active drug for the treatment of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands. A prospective study should confirm these data.