Dermatology: Practical and Conceptual


Image Letter | Dermatol Pract Concept. 2023;13(2):e2023084 1

Dermoscopic Features of Granular Cell Tumor
Lluís Corbella-Bagot1, Jaime Piquero-Casals2, Daniel Morgado-Carrasco1

1 Department of Dermatology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

2 Dermik, Clínica Dermatológica Multidisciplinar, Barcelona, Spain

Citation: Corbella-Bagot L, Piquero-Casals J, Morgado-Carrasco D. Dermoscopic Features of Granular Cell Tumor.  
Dermatol Pract Concept. 2023;13(2):e2023084. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.1302a84

Accepted: August 22, 2022; Published: April 2023

Copyright: ©2023 Corbella-Bagot et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons  
Attribution-NonCommercial License (BY-NC-4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/, which permits unrestricted 
noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.

Funding: None.

Competing Interests: None.

Authorship: All authors have contributed significantly to this publication.

Corresponding Author: Daniel Morgado-Carrasco, Dermatology Department, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, C/ Villarroel, 170, 08036, 
Barcelona, Spain. Tel: (+34) 93 227 54 00; Fax: (+34) 932275438 E-mail: morgadodaniel8@gmail.com

Case Presentation

An otherwise healthy 35-year-old male presented with a ten-

der and fast-growing nodule on the flank, of one year of evo-

lution. Clinical examination showed a 2 cm firm and shiny 

pigmented nodule. Dermoscopy revealed brown radial lines 

and perifollicular scaling, together with coiled and twisted 

hairs. Structureless pale areas were also observed (Figure 1). 

Histologic evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of a benign 

form of a granular cell tumor (GCT).

Teaching Point

GCT is an infrequent tumor usually presenting as a firm, 

sometimes pigmented nodule on mucosae or on the skin of 

the head or neck. GCT seems to originate from Schwann 

cells, which is supported by the expression of S-100 and my-

elin proteins upon immunohistochemical staining. Dermal 

Figure 1. Dermoscopic image showing a pigmented tumor with 

large, radial brown lines. Perifollicular scaling, together with coiled 

and twisted hairs is also observed, as well as structureless pale areas.



2 Image Letter | Dermatol Pract Concept. 2023;13(2):e2023084

collagen, small nerves and adnexal structures are commonly 

infiltrated by tumoral cells, even though only 1%-2% of 

GCT are malignant. Surgical excision is the recommended 

treatment. Very few dermoscopic reports are found in the 

literature. Dermoscopy of GCT can show a yellowish cen-

ter (with or without hypopigmented lines), surrounded by 

thin brown reticular lines. Small pale circles have also been 

described [1,2]. Differential diagnosis of tumors presenting 

with brown reticular lines is broad and includes melanocytic 

and non-melanocytic lesions such as dermatofibroma, sebor-

rheic keratosis, solar lentigo, cutaneous mastocytosis, super-

numerary accessory nipple and syringoma [1]. We present 

new dermoscopic features of GCT: large, radial brown lines, 

and the presence of follicular involvement.

Differential diagnosis of pigmented lesions can be chal-

lenging. Dermoscopy may help to confirm suspected GCT.

A written consent form signed by the patient has been 

obtained.

References

1. Popadić M. Dermoscopy of cutaneous Abrikossoff tumor (gran-
ular  cell tumor) in a pediatric patient.   J Am Acad Dermatol. 

2015;73(4):e137-e138. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2015.06.056. 

PMID: 26369852.

2. Alaoui A, Douhi Z, Elloudi S, Baybay H, Mernissi F. Abrikos-

soff’s tumor: Clinical and dermoscopic features.  J Dermatol 

 Cosmetol. 2019;3(5):130 DOI: 10.15406/jdc.2019.03.00129