A RARE CASE OF CHEILITIS GLANDULARIS AFFECTING THE UPPER LIP: CASE REPORT AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Background Cheilitis glandularis (CG) is an uncommon inflammatory disease that affects minor salivary glands, predominantly reported of the lower lips. Cheilitis glandularis has clinical and pathologic features similar to that of stomatitis glandularis (SG). The authors differentiated the 2 because the affected sites in SG are not limited to the lower lip. Case Report A 76-year-old female patient reported symptoms of repeated upper lip swelling with draining sinuses. She was referred by her general dental practitioner to the Oral Medicine Department of University Dental Hospital of Manchester in 2003. On examination the labial mucosa adjacent to upper right canine and first premolar contained 3 puncti overlying well-defined, firm, mobile, nontender swellings. The minor salivary gland swellings were treated by excisional biopsies on 2 occasions over 15 years because of recurrences. Histopathologic examination showed features consistent with SG. Discussion Stomatitis glandularis, including cases affecting the upper lip, appears to be rarely reported in the literature. CG affecting the lower lip is much more frequently reported. CG is associated with the development of squamous cell carcinoma, but it is unclear whether SG has premalignant potential. Conclusions The 2 glandularis conditions appear to be a continuum of the same disease process differing only at the anatomical site of the affliction. The reported link between CG and development of squamous cell carcinoma is tenuous and the authors have described a theory suggesting concomitance rather than a precursor to the malignant condition.