Correlations between the histopathological alterations in minor salivary glands and the clinically suspected Sjögren’s syndrome

Abstract

In sicca syndrome patients the xerostomia, xerophthalmia and the serological findings may strongly suggest the autoimmune Sjögren’s syndrome, but the histological findings in the labial salivary gland biopsies do not always justify the suspected diagnosis. The aim of this study was to compare the histomorphological changes and the clinical findings in patients with pathologically established Sjögren’s syndrome and in cases with negative histology. A total of 133 labial biopsies have been retrospectively evaluated from 2015 to May 2022, and the characteristic Sjögren’s lesions were found in 67 cases. According to the clinical data, 34 cases proved to be primary, and 33 were associated (“secondary”) forms. In 66 cases, the histology did not justify Sjögren’s syndrome; a significant acinar loss, fibrolipomatous infiltration, and mild sialadenitis had led to the clinical symptoms. In Sjögren’s histologies, the acinar loss was detected in just 31.8% of cases, which might indicate that the diminished saliva production represents immune-mediated hypofunction rather than direct damage of the acini. This is the first systemic study in Hungary investigating the correlation between pathological alterations and clinical findings.