Postgraduate medical journal
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Multicenter Study
Temporal relationship between sarcoidosis and malignancies in a nationwide cohort of 1942 patients.
To investigate the phenotype of sarcoidosis according to the time when a malignancy is diagnosed (preexisting to the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, concomitant, or sequential) and to identify prognostic factors associated with malignancies in a large cohort of patients with sarcoidosis. ⋯ It is essential to consider the synchronous or metachronous timing of the diagnosis of malignancies in people with sarcoidosis. We found that half of the malignancies were diagnosed after a diagnosis of sarcoidosis, with spleen and bone marrow involvement associated with a four to eight times higher risk of developing hematological malignancies. Key messages What is already known on this topic Malignancies are one of the comorbidities more frequently encountered in people with sarcoidosis What this study adds Malignancies occur in 12% of patients with sarcoidosis Malignancy may precede, coincide with, or follow the diagnosis of sarcoidosis One-third were identified before sarcoidosis, and half were diagnosed after Spleen and bone marrow involvement are risk factors for developing hematological malignancies How this study might affect research, practice or policy Patients with sarcoidosis should be regularly monitored for neoplasms, informed of the increased risk, and educated on early detection. Those with spleen or bone marrow involvement must be closely followed.