Clinical and laboratorial profile and histological features on minor salivary glands from patients under investigation for Sjögren's syndrome.

Unlabelled: Diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is complex and the usefulness of labial minor salivary glands biopsy in this process remains controversial.

Objective: to evaluate the clinical and laboratorial profile and histological features on labial minor salivary glands from patients under investigation of SS.

Study Design: clinical charts from 38 patients under suspicion of SS and submitted to labial minor salivary glands biopsies were reviewed. Clinical and laboratorial data were retrieved from the clinical files and the HE-stained histological slides were reviewed under light microscopy.

Results: mean age of the patients was 56.5 years and 97% were females; histological analysis showed that 42% of the cases showed ductal dilatation, lymphocytic foci were found in 52.6% and, from this group, 80% of the cases presented a foci/lobules ratio above 0.8. Acinar/ductal ratio was considered diminished in 39.5% of the samples. Thirty six (95%) and 32 (84%) patients, respectively, complained about xerostomia and xerophthalmia. A study of the time interval of the symptoms that led to SS investigation showed a mean of 116 months. Moreover, sixty-six percent of the patients had already been submitted to immunosuppressive therapy prior to the labial minor salivary gland biopsy. Age of the patients, scintigraphic alterations on salivary function, antinuclear factor (ANF), anti-Ro and anti-La did not show statistical significant association with the histological features. Lobules/foci ratio above 0.8 was the only histological parameter statistically associated with Sjögren's syndrome diagnosis (p<0.0001).

Conclusions: in the studied sample, lymphocytic foci on salivary glands were the only histological parameter associated to the diagnosis of SS. Early indication of labial minor salivary gland biopsy to patients under investigation of SS could limit the effects of immunosuppressive therapy on the histological features associated with the evolution of salivary gland involvement in SS.