Formerly, salivary gland cancer was considered to be chemoresistant. Chemotherapy is indicated when distant metastases or inoperable locorregional disease are observed, although the chemotherapy schedule is not well defined. Data on chemotherapy treatment for adenoid cystic carcinoma consist of phase II trials. Most of these studies analyze therapies with a combination of agents at full dose, although there is no clear evidence that such treatment improves survival. The administration of cytotoxic agents with low doses at frequent, regular intervals with no drug-free interruptions is known as metronomic chemotherapy. Most head-to-head studies show similar or even superior therapeutic results with metronomic scheduling than with a maximum tolerated dose regime. Our case report shows for first time the clinical activity of low-dose paclitaxel and cisplatin chemotherapy given separately as a single agent in metastatic adenoid cystic carcinoma of the parotid.
Antineoplastic Agents Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic