Chonnam Med J.  2012 Apr;48(1):65-68. 10.4068/cmj.2012.48.1.65.

Lingual Squamous Cell Carcinoma Surrounded by Granular Cell Tumor

• Son HY
• Kim JP
• Ko GH
• Lee EJ
• Woo SH

• KMID: 2274885
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4068/cmj.2012.48.1.65

Abstract

The granular cell tumor (GCT) is an uncommon, benign lesion with a preference for subcutaneous sites. In the head and neck, the tongue is the most common site, followed by the larynx. We experienced a case of a 27-year-old woman with lingual squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) surrounded by GCT. The pathological findings established that the lesion was SCC covered by GCT in the midline of the tongue. The size of the mass was very small, however, so we excised it in a diamond shape. There is an interesting association between GCTs and other malignant neoplasms. However, no causal relationship between GCT and these other carcinomas has been established. Here we report on an SCC coexisting with GCT at the same site as a median tongue lesion and review the literature.

Keyword

Tongue; Granular cell tumor; Squamous cell carcinoma; Excision, pathology

MeSH Terms

Adult
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Diamond
Female
Granular Cell Tumor
Head
Humans
Larynx
Neck
Tongue
Diamond

Figure

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  FIG. 1 (A) Intraoperative view: The mass was located in the midline of the tongue. Because the mass was so small and was localized to the superficial layer and the patient was a young woman, we excised the mass in a diamond shape. (B) Postoperative view 12 months later: The defect site was clearly closed.

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  FIG. 2 A squamous cell carcinoma was seen arising from the basal portion of the mucosa and infiltrating downward into the stroma (white arrow). Beneath the squamous cell carcinoma was a granular cell tumor (black arrow) (H&E ×40).

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  FIG. 3 (A) The squamous cell carcinoma is composed of tumor cells having pleomorphic nuclei and irregular infiltrates into the subepithelial connective tissue (H&E ×400). (B) The granular cell tumor is composed of round tumor cells having distinct cell borders and containing eosinophilic granules in the cytoplasm (H&E ×400).

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