Granular cell tumor of the abdominal wall: case report and review of the literature.

Granular cell tumors (GCT's) are uncommon soft tissue neoplasms most likely of neural or neuroectodermal origin. They can be found in virtually any body site, but they are rarely located in the abdominal wall. We report the case of a patient with a history of breast cancer presenting with a slow-growing, firm and painless nodule in the abdominal wall. After ruling out metastatic origin of the mass by CT scan and MRI, an incisional biopsy was performed. Anatomopathologic findings were congruent with a benign granular cell tumor of the abdominal wall. En-bloc surgical resection with reconstruction of the abdominal wall defect using a prosthetic mesh was performed. Preoperative histopathologic diagnosis of an abdominal wall tumor is important. Broad surgical excision to obtain negative margins should be the therapeutic goal in all cases of GCT as positive margins are highly correlated with recurrence of the lesion.