Cheilitis glandularis: a re-evaluation.

Cheilitis glandularis (CG) has been attributed to hyperplasia of labial salivary glands. We studied labial biopsy specimens of five patients with clinical CG and compared their salivary tissue with that seen in patients without CG. The labial glands from patients with CG did not differ in size, depth, or histologic appearance from those seen in the controls. They showed little or no inflammation and no hyperplasia. We also reviewed forty-eight cases of CG described in the literature. The accompanying photomicrographs nearly always depicted normal-appearing labial salivary glands. The case histories and clinical descriptions suggested that many examples of CG were manifestations of actinic cheilitis, whereas others may have been unusual presentations of atopic or factitious cheilitis. We believe CG represents an unusual reaction pattern in response to chronic irritation of the lips and is unrelated to labial salivary gland hyperplasia.