Glycogenic acanthosis

Overview


Glycogenic acanthosis is a nodular appearance of the mucosa of the esophagus. It is seen incidentally in 3.5% of gastroscopies.

On gastroscopy, glycogenic acanthosis is seen as a multitude of small raised plaques of 2 mm to 10 mm in size of the same colour as the esophageal mucosa. Biopsies of the lesions show hypertrophied stratified squamous mucosa with glycogen deposition in the submucosa.

Clinically, glycogenic acanthosis has no relevance, and does not progress to esophageal cancer or to stricture. It was originally thought to be associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), but the association is not entirely clear. One report also shows an association with celiac disease, but again, this has not shown been beyond that.