The role of salivary gland histopathology in primary Sj ögren's syndrome: promises and pitfalls.

The role of salivary gland histopathology in primary Sjögren's syndrome: promises and pitfalls. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2018 May-Jun;36 Suppl 112(3):222-233 Authors: Kroese FGM, Haacke EA, Bombardieri M Abstract The formation of lymphomononuclear cell infiltrates organising as periductal infiltrates in the salivary glands of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is one of the hallmarks of the disease. Historically, the clinical role of salivary gland histopathology, most commonly performed on labial salivary gland biopsies, has been confined to the clinical classification and diagnosis of pSS whereby according to the ACR-EULAR a positive histopathology finding is a requirement for the diagnosis of pSS in the absence of anti-Ro/SSA antibodies. In recent years, further understanding of the heterogeneity of the immune cell infiltration and organisation within the salivary glands of pSS patients and its correlation with clinical manifestations of the disease has led to propose salivary gland histopathology as a novel tool able to identify patients at higher risk of developing more severe extraglandular manifestations and lymphoma. Furthermore, recent clinical developments in ongoing randomised clinical trials with novel biologics in pSS have focused on salivary glands histopathology to inform on patients stratification based on target validation, proof of drug efficacy and mechanisms of response/resistance to therapy. However, lac...
Source: Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology - Category: Rheumatology Tags: Clin Exp Rheumatol Source Type: research