Clinicopathologic Characteristics of Esophageal Ectopic Sebaceous Glands: Chronological Changes and Immunohistochemical Analysis

Abstract

Esophageal ectopic sebaceous glands are very rare lesions. A series of 5 cases in a single report has been the maximum number described in the English literature to date. We conducted a clinicopathologic study of 8 cases of esophageal ectopic sebaceous glands. The median patient age at the time of diagnosis was 60 years (range, 50-71 years), and 7 of the 8 patients were male. A focal lesion was observed in 7 cases, whereas 1 case exhibited multiple lesions throughout the esophagus. Four patients had previously undergone upper gastrointestinal endoscopy; in 3 patients, the focal lesion had not been detected. After diagnosis, 3 cases showed spontaneous regression at least once. Immunohistochemically, sebocytes of all 8 cases were negative for the estrogen receptor (ER) and the progesterone receptor (PgR), whereas sebocytes of 5 cases were positive for the androgen receptor (AR). Basal/parabasal cells were positive for AR, ER, and PgR in 5, 7, and 4 cases, respectively. GATA3 was expressed in the sebocytes and basal/parabasal cells of 6 out of 7 available cases, whereas all of 7 available cases were negative for mammaglobin and GCDFP15. Our report provides the basic clinicopathologic characteristics of esophageal ectopic sebaceous glands by the largest case series reported in English literature to date. Furthermore, the chronological changes, particularly spontaneous regression, and immunohistochemical expression of hormone receptors and GATA3 are compatible with lesions resulting from congenital misplacement under hormonal regulation. Therefore, they seem to be congenital misplacements detectable as a result of hormonal stimulated growth.

Heterotopic Sebaceous Glands in the Esophagus: A Case Report and Comprehensive Literature Review

“…They range from single lesions to over a hundred, from raised spots to plaques, and are predominantly found in the upper esophagus although they can occur anywhere in the esophagus [4]. Some cases may even have no distinguishable clinical lesions on EGD and may be found incidentally on biopsy [5]. A few studies have done follow-up endoscopies, and none have reported a malignant transformation [6,7].…”

Primary Sebaceous Carcinoma of Esophagus: The First Case Report and Literature Review

“…One suggests that ectopic sebaceous glands arise from metaplasia of esophageal mucous glands (a gland with the phenotype of salivary gland), while the other hypothesis suggests a congenital misplacement of the esophagus when the organ was developing from the endoderm. The increasing evidences suggesting that they originate as a result of an acquired metaplastic process [20][21][22]. There was one case of ectopic esophagus sebaceous glands in the setting of esophageal cancer [23], however, the ectopic esophageal sebaceous glands are known to have no malignant potential in previous literature [18].…”