Granular Cell Tumor Originating from Gallbladder

Abstract

Granular cell tumors are rare benign tumors that arise from Schwann cells. They are especially rare in the gallbladder; indeed, only four cases have been reported in the English-language literature. This paper reports a granular cell tumor in the gallbladder and is the first such report in a Korean woman. She was admitted to the hospital with jaundice and fever and was diagnosed with acute hepatitis A. While hospitalized, a well-demarcated round mass was incidentally found in her gallbladder. The acute hepatitis A improved with conservative care, but the mass did not change in size after 4 months. The tumor was resected with the gallbladder during laparoscopic surgery, and was found to be a granular cell tumor. The tumor was composed of sheets or irregular fascicles of large polygonal or spindle cells with plump eosinophilic granular cytoplasm that was immunohistochemically positive for S-100 and neuron-specific enolase and negative for neurofilament. (Korean J Med 2012;83:624-628)