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Salivary Duct Carcinoma: An Update on Morphologic Mimics and Diagnostic Use of Androgen Receptor Immunohistochemistry

  • PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2017 NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY COMPANION MEETING (SAN ANTONIO, TX)
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Abstract

More than 15 years ago, seminal studies by Dr. E. Leon Barnes and colleagues transformed our understanding of salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) and, in doing so, paved the way for contemporary diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this aggressive salivary adenocarcinoma. In particular, attention to the apocrine phenotype of SDC and expression of androgen receptor (AR) by immunohistochemistry has improved the diagnostic accuracy and showed how SDC can be reliably distinguished from its morphologic mimics (i.e., other salivary gland carcinomas with high grade transformation, low grade cribriform cystadenocarcinoma, and squamous cell carcinomas involving parotid). Furthermore, the observation that SDC shares AR expression with prostate cancer and apocrine breast cancer foresaw the discovery of common molecular alterations between SDC and these tumor types and draw attention to androgen deprivation therapy for SDC patients.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank members of the Developmental Laboratory of the Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, for excellent technical support, and Robyn Roche for outstanding secretarial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Aaron M. Udager

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Simion I. Chiosea

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  1. Aaron M. Udager
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Correspondence to Simion I. Chiosea.

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Proceedings of the 2017 North American Society of Head and Neck Pathology Companion Meeting (San Antonio, TX).

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Udager, A.M., Chiosea, S.I. Salivary Duct Carcinoma: An Update on Morphologic Mimics and Diagnostic Use of Androgen Receptor Immunohistochemistry. Head and Neck Pathol 11, 288–294 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-017-0798-x

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