A Case of Glycogenic Acanthosis of the Soft Palate

Glycogenic acanthosis (GA) is a flat, white benign lesion consisting of hyperplastic squamous epithelium that contains glycogen. GA occurs mainly in the esophageal mucosa, and rarely outside the esophagus. Only 11 cases of extraesophageal GA have been reported. Here we report a case of GA involving the soft palate. The patient was a 71-year-old man who was referred to our department after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a flat, elevated lesion measuring approximately 5 mm on the soft palate. It was excised under general anesthesia. Histopathological examination revealed multilayered squamous epithelium and lightening of the color of the spicules on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The lightened spicules stained PAS-positive and since the PAS-positive spicules turned negative when treated with α-amylase, a diagnosis of GA was made. As of one year postoperatively, there have been no recurrences and no development of neoplastic lesions at other sites.