title: The Importance of Minor Salivary Gland Biopsy in Sjögren Syndrome Diagnosis and the Clinicopathological Correlation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Minor salivary gland biopsy is one of the objective tests used in the diagnosis of Sjögren syndrome. The aim of our study was to compare the clinical and laboratory data of primary and secondary Sjögren syndrome cases with a lymphocyte score 3 and 4 in the minor salivary gland biopsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from a total of 2346 consecutive minor salivary gland biopsies were retrospectively evaluated in this study. Clinical and autoantibody characteristics of 367 cases with lymphocyte score 3 or 4 and diagnosed with primary or secondary Sjögren syndrome were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no difference between lymphocyte score 3 and 4 primary Sjögren syndrome patients in terms of dry mouth, dry eye symptoms and Schirmer test results but Anti-Ro and Antinuclear Antibody positivity was statistically significantly higher in cases with lymphocyte score 4 (p= 0.025, p= 0.001). Anti-Ro test results were also found to be statistically significantly higher in secondary Sjögren syndrome patients with lymphocyte score 4 (p= 0.048).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, the high proportion of cases with negative autoantibody but positive lymphocyte score is significant in terms of showing the contribution of minor salivary gland biopsy to Sjögren syndrome diagnosis. Lymphocyte score 3 and 4 cases were found to have similar clinical findings but a difference regarding antibody positivity in primary Sjögren syndrome. We believe that cases with lymphocyte score 4 may be Sjögren syndrome cases whose clinical manifestations are relatively established and higher autoantibody levels are therefore found.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Buca Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, İZMİR, TURKEY.
authors.forename: Gürdeniz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Serin
authors.forename: Gonca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karabulut
authors.forename: Yasemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kabasakal
authors.forename: Gülşen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kandiloğlu
authors.forename: Taner
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akalin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012470:Salivary Glands, Minor / Q000473:pathology*; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies