Published online Apr 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i12.2908
Peer-review started: December 10, 2020
First decision: January 29, 2021
Revised: February 9, 2021
Accepted: March 3, 2021
Article in press: March 3, 2021
Published online: April 26, 2021
Processing time: 125 Days and 17.6 Hours
Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare, extremely aggressive malignancy that arises in the submandibular gland. It can metastasize locally early and therefore is an important differential diagnosis of metastatic disease in cervical lymph nodes or specific lymphadenitis such as tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.
We report a case of SDC in the submandibular gland that presented diagnostic difficulty. The lesion was coincidentally discovered through examination of the radiolucent area of the maxilla. Imaging failed to confirm the possibility of specific inflammation, leading us to execute an open biopsy to verify the diagnosis. The surgical specimen showed that the submandibular gland was primarily replaced with a calcified body. Following histological analysis and confirmation, we performed surgical resection, radiotherapy, and various chemotherapies.
Radiographic imaging characteristics of lymph node metastases of salivary gland cancer, especially of SDC, may resemble other cervical lymphadenitis; calcification at the submandibular gland is the landmark of SDC occurring at the subman-dibular gland.
Core Tip: Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) arising in the submandibular gland is particularly rare, and the related lymph node metastasis is difficult to distinguish from tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis, which complicates the establishment of a definitive diagnosis. We report our experience with a case of SDC in the submandibular gland, in which the similarities in the radiographic and imaging characteristics of lymph node metastatic SDC indeed mimicked those of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis. However, calcification at the submandibular grand proved to be a critical finding that enabled a definitive diagnosis.