Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease associated with primary Sjögren’s syndrome – literature review based on a case report

Abstract

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a chronic, autoimmune disease predominantly involving exocrine glands. Lymphadenopathy is one of the possible symptoms of pSS. It may also suggest development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), the most severe complication of pSS, or be a symptom of less common diseases, such as Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD), presented in this paper. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is an extremely rare, benign and self-limiting disorder, characterized by regional lymphadenopathy. This paper presents a case of previously unreported association of pSS, KFD and renal cancer in a patient with recurrent cervical lymphadenopathy, as well as a discussion on the coexistence of these diseases based on available literature searching for PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases, particularly in this subject. These three clinical entities may manifest lymphadenopathy each, causing a diagnostic dilemma. The treatment is also challenging under such circumstances. In this particular situation, it was a combination of immunosuppressive therapy and surgery.

Keywords

• renal cancer
• lymphadenopathy
• primary sjögren’s syndrome
• kikuchi-fujimoto disease