COMBINED GRANULAR-CELL TUMOR OF THE ESOPHAGUS AND STOMACH - A CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The case of a 56-year-old man with contemporary benign granular cell tumour of the oesophagus and stomach is reported. Surgical resection of the oesophagus and stomach was performed after the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma on a superficial oesophageal biopsy which showed a pseudo-epitheliomatous hyperplasia of the stratified squamous epithelium covering the oesophageal Granular Cell Tumour (GCT). Hyperplasia was also found in the overlying gastric mucosa. Eight GCTs of the oesophagus, observed between 1980 and 1985, were reevaluated to compare the neoplastic characteristics and the occurrence of overlying epithelial hyperplasia. Only one patient was female; three had multiple oesophageal tumours and four showed pseudo-epitheliomatous hyperplasia. A review of the literature is included with emphasis on the rare cases of multiple GCTs. The association of chronic alcoholism with GCT of the gastro-intestinal tract is also stressed.