Salivary gland carcinoma comprises a variety of histologies with distinct clinical behavior. Given disease rarity, no standard of care systemic therapy exists for patients with recurrent/metastatic disease. We have recently reported that Notch1 mutations define a distinct subgroup of adenoid cystic carcinoma patients with very aggressive disease and potential responsiveness to Notch1 inhibitors. Androgen blockage in salivary duct carcinoma overexpressing androgen receptor and TRK inhibitors in EVT6-NTRK3 fused mammary analogue secretory carcinoma are also promising targeted therapy undergoing clinical investigation and will be discussed.

Biography:
Dr. Ferrarotto received her MD degree and completed her Clinical Residency and Fellowship in São Paulo (Brazil). During her Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center (2012-2014), Dr. Ferrarotto led a translational research project investigating biomarkers that predict sensitivity to Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancers. Currently, Dr. Ferrarotto is an Assistant Professor focused on translational and clinical research in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, with a particular focus on the rarer tumor subtypes. Dr. Ferrarottoʼs work focuses on identifying predictive biomarkers that can be used to select the patients that will benefit the most from targeted therapy and immunotherapy.