Biopsy of the lip and Sjögren's syndrome

Minor Salivary Gland Biopsy in Diagnosis of Sjögren’s Syndrome

Objective

Previous studies have questioned the safety and efficacy of minor salivary gland biopsy in the diagnosis of Sjögren’s syndrome, citing complications and difficulty of pathologic evaluation. This study aims to determine the rate of biopsy specimen adequacy and the risk of complications after minor salivary gland biopsy.

Study Design

Case series.

Setting

Single tertiary care center.

Methods

We reviewed the records of all patients who underwent minor salivary gland biopsy at our institution from October 1, 2016, to September 1, 2021. Demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, and serologic results were recorded. The primary outcome was adequacy of the tissue sample. Complications of the procedure were recorded. Biopsies with at least one focus of ≥50 lymphocytes per 4-mm2 sample were considered positive.

Results

We identified 110 patients who underwent minor salivary gland biopsy. Ninety-three (85%) were female, and the median age was 49.1 years (range, 18.7-80.5). Seventy-seven procedures (70%) were performed in the office setting, and 33 (30%) were performed in the operating room. Nearly all biopsy samples (n = 108, 98%) were adequate, and 33 (31%) were interpreted as positive. Four patients (4%) experienced temporary lip numbness, which resolved with conservative management. No permanent complications were reported after lip biopsy. Nineteen (58%) patients with positive biopsy results had no Sjögren’s-specific antibodies. Most patients with positive biopsy results (n = 20, 61%) subsequently started immunomodulatory therapy.

Conclusion

Minor salivary gland biopsy can be performed safely and effectively in both the office and the operating room. This procedure provides clinically meaningful information and can be reasonably recommended in patients suspected to have Sjögren’s syndrome.

Salivary gland disease in HIV/AIDS and primary Sjögren's syndrome: analysis of collagen I distribution and histopathology in American and African patients

BACKGROUND

Salivary gland disease (SGD) in HIV/AIDS is clinically and histopathologically very similar to Sjögren's Syndrome (SS), although the mechanism of tissue damage is unknown. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of SGD in primary SS and in HIV/AIDS in USA and in West African patients, and to seek distinguishing histopathologic features that may help to elucidate underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

Histologic sections of minor salivary glands from 164 HIV-positive and -negative patients from Cameroon and the US, and from 17 US patients with primary SS, were evaluated following salivary gland biopsy for inflammatory changes. To confirm the presence of fibrosis, collagen I, which is the most abundant collagen type, was assessed immunohistochemically in H&E-stained sections.

RESULTS

Forty-eight per cent of patients with HIV from Cameroon had severe SGD, while it was only in 6% of patients from the US. Patients with HIV in the US had less fibrosis and collagen I deposits than Cameroonians. Seventy-six per cent of US HIV-positive patients had received anti-retroviral therapy, while none of the African patients had. SS and AIDS patients had a tendency for lymphocytes to locate in a perivascular rather than in a periductal distribution.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of SGD and the presence of fibrosis and collagen I in Cameroonians with HIV is significantly higher than in HIV-positive American patients, and is similar to US patients with primary SS. The impact of patient selection, anti-retroviral therapy, and pathogenic mechanisms on salivary gland pathology is discussed.

Focal sialadenitis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and spondyloarthropathy: a comparison with patients with rheumatoid arthritis or mixed connective tissue disease

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the occurrence of and risk factors for focal sialadenitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and spondyloarthropathy (SpA).

METHODS

A total of 85 patients (25 with RA, 19 with MCTD, 19 with AS, 22 with SpA) participated in the study. Each patient filled out a questionnaire for eye and oral symptoms and for the use of medication, and was interviewed; other tests included Schirmer's test, laboratory tests, collection of unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva, and minor salivary gland biopsy. A focus score of > or =1 was regarded as an indicator of focal sialadenitis.

RESULTS

Focal sialadenitis was observed in 68% (57/84) of all patients. It affected 80% (20/25) of the patients with RA, 94% (17/18) of those with MCTD, 58% (11/19) of those with AS, and 41% (9/22) of those with SpA (chi(2) test, p=0.0013). Salivary secretion correlated negatively with the focus scores-that is, severity of focal sialadenitis. Patients with focal sialadenitis had both decreased salivary secretion and decreased tear secretion significantly more often than did patients without (chi(2) test, p=0.0074 and p=0.048 respectively). Patients with positive rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibodies (ANA), or SSA or SSB antibodies had sialadenitis significantly more often than did patients with negative antibodies. In the subgroup of patients with AS or SpA, no associations were found between focal sialadenitis and the presence of these antibodies.

CONCLUSION

In addition to patients with RA or MCTD, focal sialadenitis also affects a very high proportion of patients with AS or SpA. Focus scores are significantly higher in patients with RA or MCTD than in those with AS or SpA. A significant association exists between focal sialadenitis and RF, ANA, SSA and SSB. However, in the subgroup of patients with AS or SpA, no associations were found between focal sialadenitis and serological markers or clinical symptoms.

Pathology of labial salivary gland cellular aggregates in Sjögren's syndrome

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease in which lymphocytic infiltration of the lacrimal and salivary glands is the hallmark of disease diagnosis. The present study was conducted to identify developmental features of labial salivary gland histopathology to permit earlier diagnosis of SS patients with borderline biopsies. Control subjects were chosen on the basis of clinical presentation consistent with SS, but whose biopsies did not meet current focus score criteria. Intraglandular connective tissue and diffuse cellular infiltration were significantly greater in SS patients than in controls. Glands in both groups had small cellular aggregates (10 to 50 cells/100 microns2), but those in SS patients were more numerous, larger, and contained more lymphocytes, plasma cells, and active fibroblasts. The large inflammatory foci characteristic of SS appeared to be formed by the enlargement and merging of these aggregates. This suggested aggregate formation was the earliest stage of pathology. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of these cellular aggregates in borderline or negative biopsies could identify at-risk patients and lead to earlier diagnosis and intervention in the disease.