Clinicopathological analysis on 10 cases of breast granular cell tumor

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological characterrisitics, diagnosis, differential diagnosis and prognosis of breast granular cell tumor (GCT). Methods The clinical data of 10 patients with GCT admitted to Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Fujian Provincial Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China from January 2010 to January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, and the relevant literature was reviewed. Results Among the 10 GCT patients, the age of onset ranged from 39 to 67 years, with a median age of 51 years. The presentation of X-ray showed high density. The tumors were in infiltrative growth pattern, and tumor cells ranged in solid-nest pattern, cluster or streak, without architectural atypia and mitosis. The tumor cells are strongly reactive to S-100 protein (10/10), CD68 protein (10/10), VIMENTIN protein (10/10) according to immunohistochemistry. But they did not show staining for CK, CK7 or SMA, Ki-67<3%. Ten cases all underwent surgical excision. There was no recurrence during 1 to 8-year follow-up. Conclusions GCT arise from nerve, maybe Schwann cells. It’s likely to be misdiagnosed by encounter puncture and frozen. Malignant GCT is rare. Key words: Breast; Granular cells tumor; Schwann cells; S-100 protein