Clinical Characteristics of Sarcoidosis Patients with Self-Reported Lymphoma: A US Nationwide Registry Study

Little is known about the association between sarcoidosis and lymphoma. We aim to determine the prevalence of lymphoma in US sarcoidosis patients and compare the clinical characteristics of patients with and without lymphoma.

Using a national registry-based study investigating 3560 respondents to the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research Sarcoidosis Advanced Registry for Cures Questionnaire (FSR-SARC) completed between June 2014 and August 2019, we identified patients who reported the diagnosis of lymphoma following sarcoidosis and randomly selected a computer-generated control sample of sarcoidosis patients with no reported lymphoma with a 2:1 ratio.

Among 3560 patients with sarcoidosis, 43 (1.2%) reported developing lymphoma following their sarcoidosis diagnosis. Patients with lymphoma were more likely to be diagnosed with sarcoidosis at a younger age (median, IQR) 40 (27-50) vs 45 (34.8-56, p = 0.017) years, were more likely to be African-Americans OR 95% CI 3.9 (1.6-9.6, p = 0.002), and have low annual income (OR 2.7, 1.1-6.4 p = 0.026). The sarcoidosis-lymphoma group were more likely to have salivary gland (16% vs 5%, p = 0.026) (OR 4; 1.1-14.5) and cutaneous (46% vs 23%, p = 0.023) (OR 2.9; 1.1-7.3) sarcoidosis. They also reported more chronic fatigue (42% vs 23%, p = 0.029), chronic pain (37% vs 13%, p = 0.001), and depression (42% vs 22%, p = 0.019).

The prevalence of lymphoma reported in sarcoidosis patients is higher than the general population which further supports the possible increased risk of lymphoma in sarcoidosis. Diagnosis of sarcoidosis at a younger age, African-American race, cutaneous, and salivary glands sarcoidosis were associated with lymphoma. Sarcoidosis patients who developed lymphoma reported higher disease burden and more non-organ-specific manifestations.