Granular Cell Ameloblastoma: An Unusual Variant

Ameloblastoma is a neoplasm of odontogenic epithelium, especially of enamel organ-type tissue that has not undergone differentiation to the point of hard tissue formation. Granular cell ameloblastoma is a rare condition, accounting for 3.5% of all ameloblastoma cases that shows marked transformation in the cytoplasm of tumor cells, which are usually stellate reticulum like cells. It is also considered an aggressive variant of the ameloblastoma with potential recurrence and malignant transformation. The transformed cells possess very coarse, granular, eosinophilic cytoplasm. The 'granular change' is thought to be due to a dysfunctional status of neoplastic cells, and the pathogenesis of this tumor seems to be age-related. This article describes a case of granular cell variant of ameloblastoma affecting a 64-year-old male.