[Esophageal granular cell tumor associated to squamous cell carcinoma: a case report].

Primary tumors of the esophagus can be classified on the basis of cell origin into epithelial and nonepithelial tumors. Each category may be further subdivided into benign and malignant types. The nonepithelial tumors arise from the mesenchymal or supporting stromal tissue, most of them are benign. Nearly all esophageal cancers are carcinomas. Sarcomas rarely arise in the esophagus. The collision tumors are composed of tumors arising in adjacent but separate loci. As they grow, they merge and invade each other at the interface 1,2. The esophagus is one of the most common sites for granular cell tumors (Abrikossof tumor) in the gastrointestinal tract. Esophageal granular cell tumor is a rare, usually solitary, small incidental lesion. Multiple tumors are found in about 10% of cases, and they may present with obstruction when large. The tumors arise more frequently in the lower third of the esophagus, producing a poorly circumscribed, firm, pale-yellow submucosal nodule1,3,4. Esophageal carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer among men and ninth among women, and it affects more than 450.000 people each year in the world. Survival is uniformly low, with 5-year survival rates usually less than 10%. Squamous cell carcinoma is the commonest malignant tumor of the esophagus, affecting males more often than females, with a median age of 60 years. Squamous cell carcinoma can occur in any portion of the esophagus, but the middle and lower third are the most common locations2,5,6,7. Herein, the authors report a case of esophageal granular cell tumor associated with squamous cell carcinoma, and describe the morphological, immunohistochemical and diagnostic criteria of these two distinct neoplasms.