A Case of Laryngeal Granular Cell Tumor

Abstract

Granular cell tumors can occur at any body site. While in about a half of the cases, they arise in the head and neck region, occurrence in the larynx is rare. Based on their characteristic immunohistochemical staining patterns, granular cell tumors are thought to arise from Schwann cells. In all but a small percentage of cases, the tumors are benign. Multiple tumors in the body are seen in 10%-14% of cases. Herein, we report a case of granular cell tumor of the vocal cord.

A 48-year-old Japanese man visited the hospital complaining of neck discomfort. Endoscopy revealed a white tumor on the posterior aspect of the left vocal cord. We suspected granular cell tumor from the biopsy findings, and resected the tumor by laryngeal microsurgery. The histopathologic findings were consistent with the diagnosis of granular cell tumor.

The tumor cells showed positive immunohistochemical staining for S-100 protein. Until the last follow-up at 12 months after the operation, the tumor had not recurred.

Even though granular cell tumors are usually benign, they recur in many cases; it remains arguable if tumor recurrences represent true recurrences or are a reflection of the propensity of the tumor to occur as multiple tumors. We propose to keep our patient under intensive follow-up.