Minor salivary gland fibrosis in Sjögren's syndrome is elevated, associated with focus score and not solely a consequence of aging

• Published in: Clinical and experimental rheumatology 2018-05, Vol.36 Suppl 112 (3), p.80-88
• Main Authors: Leehan, Kerry M, Pezant, Nathan P, Rasmussen, Astrid, Grundahl, Kiely, Moore, Jacen S, Radfar, Lida, Lewis, David M, Stone, Donald U, Lessard, Christopher J, Rhodus, Nelson L, Segal, Barbara M, Scofield, R Hal, Sivils, Kathy L, Montgomery, Courtney, Farris, A Darise
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Area Under Curve; Biopsy; Case-Control Studies; Female; Fibrosis; Humans; Linear Models; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Prognosis; ROC Curve; Salivary Glands, Minor - immunology; Salivary Glands, Minor - pathology; Severity of Illness Index; Sjogren's Syndrome - immunology; Sjogren's Syndrome - pathology
• ISSN: 0392-856X; 1593-098X

Evaluate the presence of minor salivary gland (SG) fibrosis in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) as a function of disease pathology or a consequence of ageing. Subjects with sicca symptoms attending a Sjögren's research clinic were classified by American European Consensus Group (AECG) criteria as either pSS or non-SS (nSS). Discovery (n=34 pSS, n=28 nSS) and replication (n=35 pSS, n=31 nSS) datasets were evaluated. Minor SG cross-sections from haematoxylin and eosin stained slides were imaged, digitally reconstructed and analysed for percent area fibrosis. Relationships between SG fibrosis, age, and clinical measures were evaluated using Spearman correlations. Association with SS was assessed by: ROC curve, Variable Selection Using Random Forests (VSURF) and uni- and bi-variate regression analyses. SS subjects had significantly more fibrotic tissue in their minor labial salivary glands (median 24.39%, range 5.12-51.67%) than nSS participants (median 16.7%, range 5.97-38.65%, p