Oral granular cell tumors: an analysis of the clinical and histopathologic features of 126 tumors.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the clinical and histologic features of oral granular cell tumors (GCTs).

STUDY

DESIGN

A retrospective search of the archives of our diagnostic oral pathology service was performed for GCTs diagnosed between 1989 and 2023. A total of 126 tumors in 122 patients were retrieved.

RESULTS

There was a female predilection with a female-to-male ratio of 2.3:1. The age range was 5-73 years (mean = 33.3). The most commonly involved site was the tongue (81.0%), followed by the lips (7.9%). Most GCTs were pink, but many lesions appeared yellow or white. Histologically, most GCTs were sessile masses comprised of sheets or nodules of tumor cells. Uncommonly, GCTs were pedunculated (3.2%), papillary (2.4%), ulcerated (3.2%), or desmoplastic (11.1%). Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia, histologically mimicking squamous cell carcinoma, was present in 25.4% of tumors. While 65.9% of GCTs demonstrated positive surgical margins, only 3 tumors recurred.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest series of oral GCTs with a comprehensive analysis of the clinical and histologic features. It is important for clinicians and pathologists to be aware of the spectrum of features observed in GCTs in order to avoid erroneous classification as malignancy.