Marked responses to pemetrexed chemotherapy for metastatic adenocarcinoma of the parotid gland: Case series.

BACKGROUND: There are no proven systemic therapies for metastatic adenocarcinoma of the salivary glands. Pemetrexed use in adenocarcinoma of the salivary glands has not been previously described. METHODS: Retrospective case reports and literature review. RESULTS: Two patients with metastatic salivary gland adenocarcinoma were treated with single-agent pemetrexed with marked response and clinical benefit. Case 1 describes a sustained clinical response for 8 months after failing several lines of chemotherapy. Case 2 describes a marked interval response of diffuse metastatic disease at 2 months with resolution of bone pain and sustained response at 8 months. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report of efficacy of single-agent pemetrexed for metastatic salivary gland adenocarcinoma. Given the significant and sustained responses in heavily pretreated patients, further investigation of pemetrexed for salivary cancer may be warranted.