Granular cell tumour (Abrikossoff's tumor) in the ENT region: about two cases report

Abstract

Granular cell tumors also named Abrikossoff’s tumors, are very rare soft tissue tumors, almost always benign and can affect different organs. The head and neck location are the most common, particularly skin and the tongue. The larynx is concerned in 7 to 10% of the cervico-facial locations of this tumor (1, 2). In this article we report two cases of Abrikossoff’s tumor. The first case is of a 27 years old man, with no particular features in his medical history, who consulted for dysphonia, progressively evolving over 6 months. The nasal endoscopy found a whitish nodular lesion of almost 20 mm of diameter, involving the middle third of the right vocal cord. The tumor was removed under microlaryngoscopy. The second case is of ten days old newborn female, who presented dyspnea and dysphagia while breastfeeding, the clinical exam showed a round shaped lesion of 4 cm of diameter, implanted in the dorsal face of the tongue. The lesion was rooted out with electrocautery under general anesthesia. Anatomopathology examination with Immunohistochemistry of both patients’ surgical samples confirmed the diagnosis of granular cell tumor. The Origin of the Abrikossof’s tumors is uncertain. The recent immunohistochemical studies are orienting toward neurogenic origin. These tumors usually arise in the adult, between the ages of 20 to 60 years old, with female predominance. The symptoms are diverse and non-specific, only the anatopahtological examination permits to confirm the diagnosis. The main issues of these tumors are the compression of the adjacent structures and the high risk of recurrence, which requires long term surveillance.