Paraneoplastic sarcoidosis: a review

Sarcoidosis is occasionally seen in association with malignancy, both at the time of cancer diagnosis or during follow up.

The purpose of this study is to identify patients with paraneoplastic sarcoid, their associated malignancies and disease characteristics.

We identified 289 patients diagnosed histologically with sarcoidosis over a 6-year period in one centre, from 2010 to 2016. Fifty of these patients had a prior or concomitant diagnosis of cancer.

17.3% of sarcoid cases had an associated malignancy. The most common malignancies were Gastrointestinal (20%), Haematological (18%), Lung (12%), Gynaecological (12%) and Head and Neck cancer (12%). 74% of sarcoid cases had pulmonary disease with sarcoid diagnostic tissue obtained most frequently via endobronchial ultrasound fine needle aspiration (68%). Most sarcoid cases (66%) were diagnosed within the first year of their malignancy diagnosis.

Careful consideration needs to be given to the possibility that potential cancer recurrences suspected on imaging studies may indeed be sarcoid reactions.