Sarcomatoid salivary duct carcinoma of the larynx

The sarcomatoid variant is a rare subtype of salivary duct carcinoma that comprises epithelial and sarcomatoid components. The authors present the first reported case of sarcomatoid salivary duct carcinoma occurring in the larynx, which was successfully treated by partial laryngectomy with ipsilateral neck dissection, with no evidence of recurrence after five years. Microscopic analysis revealed a composite epithelial and sarcomatoid tumour. The epithelial component was characterized by papillary proliferation of glandular and ductal structures lined with multilayered epithelial tumour cells. The sarcomatoid component was characterized by pleomorphic spindle cells with cytologic atypia, accompanied by small lymphoid cells, extensive proliferation of blood vessels and focal myxoid changes. To the best of our knowledge, only one case of sarcomatoid salivary duct carcinoma outside a major salivary gland has been reported previously in the literature, and this is the first report of sarcomatoid salivary duct carcinoma arising from the larynx.