What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to explore the association between minor salivary gland biopsy findings and clinical-laboratory variables in Sjögren’s syndrome.

April 27, 2026Cureus0 citationsOpen Access

Anti-SSA/Ro60kd Antibodies Are Associated With Positive Salivary Gland Biopsy in Sjögren’s Syndrome: A Retrospective Exploratory Study

RSRita Matos SousaInstituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil MDMarta DuarteUniversity of Minho AMAna Filipa MartinsHospital Braga

Key Points

This study aims to explore the association between minor salivary gland biopsy findings and clinical-laboratory variables in Sjögren’s syndrome.
Retrospective observational study conducted at Braga Local Health Unit with 37 patients diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome.
Patients categorized into positive (n=17) and negative (n=20) biopsy groups.
Statistical analysis performed using Fisher’s exact test and multivariate logistic regression.
Anti-SSA Ro60 kDa positivity was associated with biopsy positivity (OR: 12.94; 95% CI: 1.39-120.13; p=0.024).
The most common symptoms were ocular dryness (91.9%) and oral dryness (78.4%).
Myalgias were linked to a lower likelihood of having a positive biopsy.

Abstract

Introduction/objectives: Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease with heterogeneous clinical, laboratory, and histopathological manifestations, which complicate timely diagnosis. Minor salivary gland biopsy (MSGB) is a key component of SS classification, although its relationship with clinical and serological features remains incompletely characterized. This study aimed to evaluate the association between MSGB findings and clinical-laboratory variables in patients with SS and to identify variables associated with a positive biopsy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study at Braga Local Health Unit, including 37 patients diagnosed with SS between 1995 and 2024 who underwent MSGB. Patients were categorized into group A (positive biopsy, n = 17) or group B (negative biopsy, n = 20). Clinical, serological, and histopathological variables were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test and multivariate logistic regression. Results: Thirty-seven patients were included (17 biopsy-positive, 20 biopsy-negative). The most frequent manifestations were ocular dryness (91.9%), oral dryness (78.4%), anti-SSA antibodies (Ro52: 51.4%; Ro60 kDa: 54.1%), antinuclear antibodies (ANA) titers >1:160 (64.9%), rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity (40.5%), elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (67.6%), and arthralgia (56.8%). Fisher’s exact test identified several statistically significant associations between clinical and serological variables. In multivariate logistic regression, anti-SSA Ro60 kDa positivity was independently associated with a positive biopsy result (OR: 12.94; 95% CI: 1.39-120.13; p = 0.024), while myalgias were associated with a lower likelihood of biopsy positivity. Conclusion: This exploratory study identified associations between serological markers and salivary gland biopsy findings in SS. Anti-SSA Ro60 kDa positivity may be associated with histopathological involvement; however, given the small sample size and wide confidence intervals, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and require validation in larger prospective studies.

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