Salivary Gland Heterotopia in the Gastroesophageal Junction: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Heterotopia is defined as the presence of mature, histologically normal, tissue in unusual anatomic sites. When this heterotopic tissue forms a mass, it is called a choristoma. This case series describes 3 cases of gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) salivary heterotopias. While heterotopias are usually incidental findings, choristomas can clinically and endoscopically mimic carcinomas and might lead to unnecessary procedures for the patients. Clinicians should therefore be aware of this entity. Literature search, however, failed to show any reports of salivary gland heterotopias in the GEJ. In fact, literature review revealed only 6 reported cases of salivary gland choristoma in the gastrointestinal tract, none at the GEJ. In this case series, we report 2 cases of salivary gland heterotopia and one case of salivary gland choristoma arising at the GE junction. To our knowledge, this is the first series of its kind in the literature.