Development of Hodgkin's disease in the course of primary Sjögren's syndrome

We report two patients with a definite diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome who developed Hodgkin's disease. Clinical and laboratory features of this transformation comprised prolonged fever, the appearance of lymphadenopathy together with loss of serum autoantibodies and a reduction in serum gammaglobulin levels. We know of only one well documented case of such an association. From these observations, it seems reasonable to include Hodgkin's disease in the clinical spectrum of the lymphoproliferative disorders that may occur in the course of primary Sjögren's syndrome.