Granular Cell Tumor: A Clinical Study of 81 Patients

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough a granular cell tumor (GCT) usually develops on the skin or oral mucosa, it has been described in many other organs. GCT typically presents as a solitary tumor, but multiple lesions can occur. It has also been described in association with other diseases. ObjectiveTo describe the clinical characteristics of cutaneous and oral mucosal GCTs and explore potential associations with other diseases. Material and methodsRetrospective study of patients diagnosed with GCT at our hospital between 1995 and 2019. The following information was collected from the patients’ medical records: age, sex, number of GCTs, location, diameter, time to diagnosis, tentative clinical diagnosis, surgical margin status, recurrence, follow-up time, and associated diseases. ResultsWe detected 89 cutaneous or oral mucosal GCTs in 81 patients (43 women, 38 men) with a mean age of 40.21 years. The mean tumor diameter was 1.34 cm. Five of the 81 patients (6.2%) had multiple GCTs, including noncutaneous tumors. Patients with multiple GCTs were on average younger than those with a single tumor (P = .004). There was only a single case of local recurrence and no cases of distant metastasis. None of the patients had associated diseases. ConclusionsMost GCTs are benign and local recurrence is uncommon, even in patients with positive margins. Nevertheless, the possibility of multiple tumors affecting the skin, oral mucosa, or internal organs should be borne in mind, especially in young patients.