Granular cell basal cell carcinoma: A case report.

Granular cell basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a rare histopathological variant of BCC. Our review of the literature revealed only 17 previously identified cases. We report the case of a 47-year-old man who presented with an ulceration on his right upper lip which was subsequently removed. Histopathologic examination revealed that the tumor was composed solely of granular cells with numerous cytoplasmic eosinophilic round inclusion bodies. Mitotic figures ranged from 8 to 15 per 10 high-power fields, with a Ki-67 proliferative index of ~5%. Immunohistochemically, the granular cells showed strong and diffuse positivity for Ber-EP4, pan-cytokeratin, AE1/AE3, CK5/6 and p63 and focal positivity for lysozyme, CD68 (clone KP1) and Bcl-2.