Magnifying Endoscopy for Esophageal Ectopic Sebaceous Glands

Abstract

Ectopic sebaceous glands are found very rarely in the esophagus; heretofore, several cases have been reported. The sebaceous gland is originally a source of an endodermal origin; however, there have been controversies regarding whether the origin of the esophageal ectopic sebaceous gland is ectodermal or endodermal. Ectopic sebaceous glands of the esophagus usually do not cause symptoms; thus, they are often found incidentally on endoscopy for routine health screening. Endoscopic findings are characterized by single or multiple yellow patches or nodular lesions of various sizes, sometimes with small central openings. We report two cases of esophageal ectopic sebaceous glands found incidentally during endoscopy with magnifying endoscopic findings. The lesions were in the mid-esophagus and lower esophagus, respectively, and both endoscopic findings were similar as multiple yellowish patches or plaques. Magnifying endoscopy revealed the openings of the excretory ducts surrounded by circular microvessels in both cases.

Keywords: Endoscopy; Esophagus; Sebaceous glands.

Fig. 1.

(A) Upper endoscopy reveals multiple yellowish patches in the lower esophagus. (B) On magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging, the excretory ducts of the sebaceous glands are slightly protruded and surrounded by circular microvessels (arrow). (C) Endoscopic biopsy reveals large and polygonal, clear cells with vacuolated cytoplasm within the squamous epithelium (hematoxylin and eosin, ×400).

Fig. 2.

(A) Upper endoscopy reveals several yellow plaques in the mid-esophagus. (B) Magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging shows the excretory ducts of the sebaceous glands surrounded by circular microvessels. (C) Endoscopic biopsy reveals aggregates of polygonal cells with small central nuclei and abundant clear granular cytoplasm with foam-like fat droplets (hematoxylin and eosin, ×400).