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Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas
versão impressa ISSN 1130-0108
Rev. esp. enferm. dig. vol.102 no.2 Madrid Fev. 2010
PICTURES IN DIGESTIVE PATHOLOGY
Ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus
Ectopia esofágica de glándulas sebáceas
E. Marín-Serrano1, M. Jaquotot-Herranz1, L. Casanova-Martínez1, R. Tur-González2 and J. M. Segura-Cabral1
Services of 1Digestive Disease and 2Pathology. Hospital Universitario La Paz. Madrid, Spain
The discovery of sebaceous glands in ectoderm-derived tissues such as the oral cavity, parotid glands, and external genitalia is a frequent finding. On the contrary, the presence of sebaceous glands in the esophagus, which is an organ of endodermal origin, is rare: there are fewer than thirty cases reported, most of them affecting the esophagus in a patchy pattern.
Case report
A 50-year-old woman suffering from heartburn and acid regurgitation was referred to our department for endoscopic examination. Endoscopy demonstrated more than one hundred tiny, rounded, elevated, white-yellowish lesions distributed throughout the entire esophagus (Fig. 1), which were identified during the histopathological examination as sebaceous glands (Fig. 2).
Discussion
As of now, the histogenesis of ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus is unknown; whilst it could be a congenital abnormality, a majority of authors defined it like an acquired metaplastic process.
From a practical standpoint, it is an incidental finding that on occasion, as in our case, has been associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease, not requiring treatment or endoscopic follow-up and, and needing a differential diagnosis from Candida infection and glycogen acanthosis.
Recommended references
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