Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis of liver and pancreas: A case report and review of literature

The clinical management of hepatic sarcoidosis: A systematic review

Background

Hepatic sarcoidosis is an uncommon clinical condition in which clear recommendations are lacking in its treatment. We aimed to review systematically the literature on hepatic sarcoidosis treatment to guide clinicians.

Methods

Using MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases, we searched original articles on clinical studies reporting the outcome of adult hepatic sarcoidosis patients following treatment with various pharmacological agents. The primary end point was focused on assessing symptomatic relief and biochemical improvement posttreatment.

Results

Out of 614 retrieved references, 34 published studies were eligible, providing data for a total of 268 patients with hepatic sarcoidosis. First-line therapy with corticosteroids alone was reported in 187 patients, whilst ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was used in 40 patients. Symptomatic and biochemical responses were reported among 113(60.4%) and 80(42.8%) cases of corticosteroids respectively, whereas UDCA showed a complete response in 23(57.5%) patients. Second-line therapy was used in steroid-refractory cases, with most cases being reported for azathioprine (n = 32) and methotrexate (n = 28). Notably, 15(46.9%) and 11(39.2%) patients showed both clinical and biochemical responses respectively. Biological therapy including anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) was used as third line therapy in twelve cases with a 72.7% symptomatic and biochemical response rate each.

Conclusion

The quality of evidence for the treatment of hepatic sarcoidosis was poor. Nevertheless, it appears that corticosteroid or UDCA may be utilized as first-line therapy. For cases that are refractory to corticosteroids, steroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents and anti-TNF have shown some promising results, but further high-quality studies are required.

A Clinical and Pathophysiological Overview of Intestinal and Systemic Diseases Associated with Pancreatic Disorders: Causality or Casualty?

The relationship between chronic intestinal disease, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and celiac disease (CelD), and pancreatic disorders has been little investigated. Although an increased risk of acute pancreatitis (AP), exocrine pancreatic insufficiency with or without chronic pancreatitis, and chronic asymptomatic pancreatic hyperenzymemia have been described in these patients, the pathogenetic link remains unclear. It may potentially involve drugs, altered microcirculation, gut permeability/motility with disruption of enteric-mediated hormone secretion, bacterial translocation, and activation of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue related to chronic inflammation. In addition, the risk of pancreatic cancer seems to be increased in both IBD and CelD patients with unknown pathogenesis. Finally, other systemic conditions (e.g., IgG4-related disease, sarcoidosis, vasculitides) might affect pancreatic gland and the intestinal tract with various clinical manifestations. This review includes the current understandings of this enigmatic association, reporting a clinical and pathophysiological overview about this topic.

[Sarcoidosis as prime example of a granulomatous disease]

Sarcoidosis is the most frequent immunologically related granulomatous disease and can serve as a model for understanding diseases within this category. The evidence on the diagnostics and treatment is so far limited. It is therefore all the more important that two new and significant guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis were published during the last 2 years. Additionally, there were more new publications, which were considered for this review article. In this context, this review article provides a current update and overview of sarcoidosis. Pathophysiologically, there is an increasing understanding of the complex processes and interactions involved in the inflammatory processes and granuloma formation. The probability of a diagnosis of sarcoidosis is determined by compatible histology, the exclusion of differential diagnoses and if possible evidence of a multiorgan manifestation. The clinical course is variable and ranges from an asymptomatic manifestation to severe life-threatening organ failure. The most frequently affected organ are the lungs. Pulmonary fibrosis is the most severe form and is also decisive for mortality. An increasing focus is on the extrapulmonary organ manifestations, in particular, cardiac, hepatosplenic, gastrointestinal, renal, ocular and neurological involvement. Treatment, which consists primarily of immunosuppression, should be initiated in cases of organ-threatening or quality of life-impairing activity of the disease. Additional organ-specific management must also be evaluated. In cases of organ failure transplantation should be considered. Due to the limited evidence especially for the treatment of multiorgan sarcoidosis, when possible, patients with this disease should be included in clinical trials.

Clinical Features, Histopathology and Differential Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a chameleon disease of unknown etiology, characterized by the growth of non-necrotizing and non-caseating granulomas and manifesting with clinical pictures that vary on the basis of the organs that are mainly affected. Lungs and intrathoracic lymph nodes are the sites that are most often involved, but virtually no organ is spared from this disease. Histopathology is distinctive but not pathognomonic, since the findings can be found also in other granulomatous disorders. The knowledge of these findings is important because it could be helpful to differentiate sarcoidosis from the other granulomatous-related diseases. This review aims at illustrating the main clinical and histopathological findings that could help clinicians in their routine clinical practice.

Poor Graft and Patient Survival After Liver Transplantation in Sarcoidosis

GOALS AND BACKGROUND

There are limited data on post-liver transplantation (LT) outcomes of patients with sarcoidosis.

STUDY

We examined the clinical characteristics and post-LT outcomes of patients with sarcoidosis using the United Network for Organ Sharing database from 1985 to 2016 and compared them to patients (entire cohort as well as age, gender, and year of LT-matched counterparts) with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). For the matched design, a conditional logistic regression was used for categorical variables and marginal generalized estimating equation regression models for continuous variables. Survival functions were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator.

RESULTS

A total of 206 patients with sarcoidosis, transplanted during the study period, were compared with 3933 patients with PBC and 5323 with PSC. In total, 197 patients with sarcoidosis were compared with 576 with PBC and 576 with PSC in the 1:3 matched analysis. The sarcoidosis group had a higher proportion of blacks (53.3%) and a higher prevalence of obesity and type II diabetes mellitus. The graft and patient survival for sarcoidosis patients were lower when compared with unmatched PBC and PSC patients. The results remained unchanged in the matched analysis. At 5-year, patient survival was ~15% lower for the sarcoidosis group when compared with PBC and PSC. In multivariate analysis using matched data, hazard ratios (HRs) for graft (HR=1.68, 95% confidence interval=1.03-2.75, P=0.04), and patient (HR=2.01, confidence interval=1.22-3.34, P<0.01) survival were higher for sarcoidosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who underwent LT for sarcoidosis had a lower graft and patient survival when compared with those with PBC or PSC. That being said, 66% of patients survived 5 years after transplantation, suggesting that LT is an acceptable option in this population.

An Atypical Presentation of Extrapulmonary Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic, chronic, multisystem, granulomatous, inflammatory disease involving almost all organs. Sarcoidosis can occur with an atypical presentation of hepatosplenic involvement, like in the case of our patient. In this case report, we present a rare case of extrapulmonary sarcoidosis with isolated involvement of the liver and spleen in a 39-year-old Caucasian female. There is a possibility of this isolated involvement of an organ in the complete absence of pulmonary disease, which makes the diagnosis of sarcoidosis very difficult as it is usually not suspected. Ultrasound and CT are important in ruling out other differential diagnoses, but a definitive diagnosis is possible only on histological examination, differentiating sarcoid lesions from tuberculosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, metastasis, malignancy, and other granulomatous infections or diseases. Hence, the most credible criterion for diagnosis remains histology. After diagnosis, regular follow-up for systemic manifestations is recommended. Asymptomatic patients with hepatosplenic sarcoidosis have a good prognosis without any medical intervention, while patients with abnormal labs or symptoms must commence treatment.

Isolated Pancreatic Sarcoidosis Diagnosed by Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Fine-needle Aspiration

We herein report a 52-year-old man with multiple hypoechoic lesions in the body and tail of the pancreas detected during a screening ultrasound. Computed tomography (CT) showed no lesions other than those in the pancreas and peripheral lymph nodes. Contrast-enhanced CT identified hypovascular tumors in the pancreas. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) demonstrated partial fibrosis and noncaseating granulomas with Langhans giant cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report of isolated pancreatic sarcoidosis diagnosed by EUS-FNA. Although pancreatic sarcoidosis is very rare, clinicians should be aware of this possibility in patients presenting with multiple hypovascular pancreatic tumors.

Chronic Inflammatory Arthropathy Preceding Acute Systemic Manifestations of Sarcoidosis: A Possible Overlap of Idiopathic Juvenile Arthritis and Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease with unknown etiology, marked by T lymphocytes and macrophages agglomeration, which leads to the formation of noncaseating granulomas in the affected tissues. We describe a case of a 40-year-old black patient referred to our service for evaluation of nephrolithiasis and persistent elevation of plasma creatinine. He reported important weight loss, fever episodes, and abdominal and low back intermittent pain in the past 6 months. The investigation revealed elevated serum calcium level, hepatosplenomegaly, retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and nephrolithiasis. The initial diagnostic hypothesis was lymphoproliferative disease, but the laparoscopic propaedeutic showed multiple white lesions on the liver surface, which biopsy identified as noncaseating granulomas with asteroid corpuscles, suggestive of sarcoidosis. He was treated with corticosteroids with significant improvement in symptoms and in calcium and creatinine levels. Besides, the patient presented a long-term large joints arthropathy, especially on the knees (with bilateral prosthesis), wrists, and ankles, of unknown etiology. We discuss the systemic manifestations of sarcoidosis related to the reported case, as well as the possible overlapping of idiopathic juvenile arthritis with sarcoidosis.

Hepatic Sarcoidosis: An Uncommon Cause of Cirrhosis

Sarcoidosis is a multi-organ inflammatory disease of unclear etiology. The hallmark of the disease is the formation of non-caseating granulomas. The prevalence of sarcoidosis is 5-30% in the general population and up to 80% in autopsy series. Hepatic involvement is seen in almost 50% of cases of sarcoidosis, though the clinical consequences are variable. In this study, we describe the case of three patients from our institution with hepatic sarcoidosis. Two of them eventually went on to develop liver cirrhosis.

Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis primarily presenting as cholestatic liver disease

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disorder associated with non-caseating granulomas in affected organs, most commonly the lungs. Involvement of extrapulmonary organs is common, but lack of pulmonary involvement is rare and is called non-pulmonary sarcoidosis (NPS). Like pulmonary sarcoidosis, a definitive diagnostic test for NPS does not exist. Instead, the diagnosis of sarcoidosis requires the following elements: clinical and radiographic manifestations of sarcoidosis, histopathological detection of non-caseating granulomas and the exclusion of other diseases that may present similarly. Because of the experience with corticosteroids in pulmonary sarcoidosis, they are generally considered first-line therapy for NPS too. Ursodeoxycholic acid can be used to reduce cholestasis in NPS, but is inferior to corticosteroids in reducing inflammation. We hereby present a case that is particularly notable for its rare presentation of NPS as a granulomatous hepatitis with cholestatic liver function tests.

Hepatic involvement in sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Liver is frequently involved in the pathological process. Wide range of clinical manifestations can be seen: from asymptomatic lesion with normal liver function tests to cirrhosis with portal hypertension. Biopsy plays the key role in diagnosis of the hepatic sarcoidosis. It is essential for morphological diagnosis to exclude other causes of granulomatous liver disease, most often - primary biliary cholangitis. Nowadays there are no standard treatment protocols for patients with hepatic sarcoidosis.

Ultrasound imaging of abdominal sarcoidosis: State of the art

Since it has been recognized that sarcoidosis (SA) is not an exclusive disorder of the lungs but can also affect other organs such as the liver and spleen, efforts have been made to define specific imaging criteria for the diagnosis of the single organ involvement, and the concept has been reinforced that the exclusion of alternative causes is important to achieve the correct diagnosis. Ultrasound (US) is a useful tool to evaluate patients with suspected abdominal SA, such as of the liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas and other organs, showing findings such as organomegaly, focal lesions and lymphadenopathy. While the diagnosis of abdominal SA is more predictable in the case of involvement of other organs (e.g., lungs), the problem is more complex in the case of isolated abdominal SA. The recent use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound elastography has provided additional information about the enhancement patterns and tissue rigidity in abdominal SA. Here we critically review the role of US in abdominal SA, reporting typical findings and limitations of current evidence and by discussing future perspectives of study.

Granulomatous Pancreas: A Case Report of Pancreatic Sarcoid

Sarcoidosis is a chronic, systemic, noncaseating granulomatous disease process of unknown etiology. Sarcoidosis most commonly manifests in the lungs; however, gastrointestinal manifestations can occur. If in the GI tract, it is almost always found in the liver. Solitary pancreatic lesions are extremely rare, with less than 50 documented cases found in the literature. We present a case of a 61-year-old female, with a past medical history of sarcoidosis, who presented to the ER with unexpected weight loss, scleral icterus, right upper quadrant pain, and epigastric and back pain. US and MRI found a dilated common bile duct and mild dilation of the pancreatic duct, as well as a focal prominence in the head of the pancreas surrounded by areas of atrophy. A pancreaticoduodenectomy procedure was performed and fresh frozen sections were taken. The pathologist made a diagnosis of nonnecrotizing granulomatous pancreatitis. Pancreatic sarcoid is often asymptomatic and a benign finding on autopsy; however, clinicians should be mindful of pancreatic involvement when working up differential diagnosis for pancreatic masses.

Sarcoidosis with Pancreatic Mass, Endobronchial Nodules, and Miliary Opacities in the Lung

Sarcoidosis affects multiple organs and rarely has unusual manifestations. A 78-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for coughing symptoms. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed bilateral diffuse miliary patterns and right pleural effusion. Bronchoscopy showed multiple nodules in the carina and the bronchus intermedius. A CT scan of her abdomen revealed hypovascular lesions involving the pancreatic head and body. A transbronchial lung biopsy, bronchial mucosal biopsy, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the pancreatic mass demonstrated non-caseating granulomas. We diagnosed the patient with sarcoidosis. She received no treatment for sarcoidosis and has been followed up for one year, during which no pulmonary disease progression had been observed and the pancreatic masses partially regressed.

Long-Term Outcomes of Liver Transplantation for Hepatic Sarcoidosis: A Single Center Experience

AIM

Hepatic sarcoidosis is a rare indication for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Hence, studies evaluating these patients are scarce. We present a single center experience with OLT for hepatic sarcoidosis in a case-control study.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was performed on 970 patients with OLT at our center, and 13 patients (1.3%) were identified who underwent 14 OLTs for hepatic sarcoidosis. For each case, two controls matched for etiology of liver disease, recipient age (±5 years), and duration since transplant (within 5 years) were selected.

RESULTS

For the 13 patients transplanted for sarcoidosis, the median age was 46 years. The majority were women (62%) and African-American (85%). Cholestatic liver disease was the primary manifestation. Portal hypertensive complications were present in 11 patients (84%). The median MELD score at transplantation was 19. Extra-hepatic manifestations were present in ten patients (77%). All patients received whole deceased 14 donor allografts. Six patients remain alive with a median post-OLT follow-up of 8.4 years. The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year patient survival rates were 84.6%, 76.9%, 61.1%, and 51.3%, respectively for the sarcoidosis group and 82.1%, 78.6%, 78.6%, and 61.9%, respectively for the matched PSC/PBC group (P = 0.739). Re-graft free survival for sarcoidosis patients was 84.6%, 76.9%, 61.5%, and 51.3% for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-years and for the matched control group re-graft free survival was 78.6% at 1-, 3-, 5-years, and 64.8% at 10-years (P = 0.661). Recurrence of hepatic sarcoidosis was found in 4 patients at 11 days, 112 days, 222 days, and 6.6 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study depicts the long-term benefit of liver transplantation in patients with end stage liver disease secondary to sarcoidosis. It shows statistically comparable graft and patient survival for such patients when compared to other cholestatic diseases. Disease recurrence, although possible, has not been shown to cause allograft dysfunction.

Approaches to the treatment of some of the troublesome manifestations of sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis can be a major therapeutic challenge given its multiplicity of clinical presentations, variable combination of organ involvement and severity, and unpredictable longitudinal behaviour. Six manifestations of sarcoidosis are especially difficult to manage because of (i) an incomplete knowledge of causation - fatigue and small fibre neuropathy, (ii) the rare occurrence in sarcoidosis - intra-abdominal complications or (iii) the potentially life-threatening consequences in some patients - neurological disease, pulmonary hypertension and hypercalcaemia. In none of these situations have a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of any therapy been conducted. Despite this absence of any firm evidence base to support therapeutic recommendations, these six entities can be extremely problematic for the practising clinician. It is for this reason that we have focused in this review on these six disease manifestations and provided a synopsis of each problem together with suggested treatment approaches, based on an analysis of the current literature.

Mimicking pancreatic malignancy: a systemic sarcoidosis

Systemic sarcoidosis that initially presents as a pancreatic mass has rarely been reported. A 47-year-old man presented with idiopathic epigastric abdominal pain. Abdominal CT showed multiple enlarged lymph nodes in the retroperitoneal area and a suspected tumor mass in the pancreatic head region. The preliminary diagnosis was celiac metastasis of a pancreatic malignancy. The definitive diagnosis was systemic sarcoidosis, which was supported by granulomas on histology, clinical radiographic findings, and clinical response to steroids. A review of published reports on sarcoidosis presenting initially as a pancreatic or celiac mass from the Chinese biomedical database (1978-2010) is included.

Hepatic Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease characterized by the presence of non-caseating granulomas in affected organs. Pulmonary involvement is the most common site of disease activity. However, hepatic involvement is also common in sarcoidosis, occurring in up to 70% of patients. Most patients with liver involvement are asymptomatic. Therefore, the majority of cases are discovered incidentally, frequently by the finding of elevated liver enzymes. Pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, fatigue, pruritus, and jaundice may be associated with liver involvement. Portal hypertension and cirrhosis are complications linked to long-standing hepatic sarcoidosis. Liver biopsy is usually required to confirm the diagnosis. It is important to differentiate hepatic sarcoidosis from other autoimmune and granulomatous liver diseases. Not all cases of hepatic sarcoidosis require treatment. For symptomatic patients, the first line treatment includes corticosteroids or ursodeoxycholic acid. Various immunosuppressant agents can be used as second line agents. Rarely, severe cases require liver transplantation.

A histologically proven case of progressive liver sarcoidosis with variceal rupture

Sarcoidosis is a chronic multi-systemic granulomatous disease, and liver involvement frequently occurs. in most cases, no evidence of liver dysfunction is observed, and portal hypertension due to sarcoid liver diseases is a rareoccurrence. Moreover, no case of liver sarcoidosis has ever been reported with confirmation of the disease progression. Herein we describe a patient having hepatic sarcoidosis with severe portal hypertension and liver dysfunction. The diagnosis was histologically confirmed from granulomatous status to established liver cirrhosis over 10 years. A 46-year-old woman developed massive hematemesis due to the rupture of gastric cardial varices. She underwent emergency endoscopic injection sclerotherapy, and clear evidence of chronic hepatic failure. Twelve years ago, she was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis with respiratory clinicalsymptoms. Liver biopsy revealed asymptomatic incidental granulomas without fibrosis development. After a couple of years, features of liver dysfunction were manifest and progressed. Ten years after the first biopsy, a second liver biopsy was performed, and well established dense fibrosis was revealed. Although significant liver dysfunction with portal hypertension is rarely seen in sarcoidosis, this case indicates that we have to consider the possibility that sarcoidosis may cause end-stage liver cirrhosis.

[A rare tumor-like lesion of the pancreatic head with bile duct obstruction]

Tumors of the pancreatic head commonly consist of carcinomas whereas other entities are rare exceptions. Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis is well-known but is extremely rare when detected as a mass in the pancreatic head. In general the diagnosis of sarcoidosis requires histologic examination with verification of non-caseous, epithelioid cell-like granulomas. Systemic therapy consists of steroids when the patient exhibits symptoms or in the case of progression of the disease. However, in some cases extended abdominal resections are also required to confirm the diagnosis and/or to treat symptoms.

Intra-abdominal complications of sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by non-caseating granulomas in the absence of other autoimmune processes, infectious diseases, or foreign agents. The etiology of sarcoidosis is not completely understood. Several organ systems can be affected, of which the most frequently involved include the lungs and lymph nodes. Intra-abdominal sarcoidosis is less common, but can be found in the absence of pulmonary or lymphatic disease. Intra-abdominal sarcoidosis is most often asymptomatic. However, long-standing unrecognized disease can result in life-threatening complications. The identification, monitoring and prevention of these complications will be discussed, with emphasis on both clinical and histological presentations of intra-abdominal sarcoidosis.

Liver sarcoidosis that presented with dysphagia

We report a case of liver sarcoidosis with dysphagia. Although akinesia of the soft palate, disappearance of the palatal reflex, and pyramidal signs indicated brainstem lesions, brain magnetic resonance imaging showed no lesion and the focus was obscure. Iritis, parotiditis, and hilar lymphadenopathy supported the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. However, lung biopsy was normal. Finally, sarcoidosis was diagnosed by liver biopsy. We speculated that microgranulomas in the brainstem that did not exhibit imaging abnormalities causing the neurological symptoms and that liver biopsy can be an effective diagnostic tool even for cases that presented with neurological signs, but no gastrointestinal symptom.