GRANULAR-CELL TUMOR OF THE ESOPHAGUS - REPORT OF A CASE WITH A CYTOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS BASED ON ESOPHAGEAL BRUSHING

We report a case of granular-cell tumor (GCT) in the esophagus. This i s a rare location for this tumor and only 80 cases have been described . The tumor was diagnosed in a 24-yr-old woman with epigastralgia. End oscopic examination revealed a submucosal ulcerated lesion. The smears derived from esophageal brushings contained clusters of granular cell s. Histologic examination of the endoscopic biopsy provided diagnostic confirmation of GCT To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of esophageal GCT in which the characteristic tumor cells were seen i n the endoscopic brushing material. This case demonstrates that a cyto logic diagnosis of GCT is possible if the lesion is ulcerated and/or b rushing is subsequent to taking the biopsy. Although rare in the esoph agus, GCT should be consider-ed in rite differential diagnosis of esop hageal neoplasms. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.