Salivary gland carcinomas are rare tumours representing about 0.5% of all malignancies and less than 5 % of all head and neck cancers. These are a heterogeneous group of tumors that include 24 histologically distinct tumor types. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor in adults and children. The most common genetic alteration in MECs is a unique translocation t(11;19)(q21;p13) producing the MECT1-MAML2 fusion protein. This fusion transcript can activate transcription of targets in the Notch pathway. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression is present in a minority of MECs and is associated with higher rate of metastasis and worse overall survival. Recent studies have evaluated the epidermal growth factor receptor family including EGFR and HER2 as potential therapeutic targets.
