Increased prevalences of head and neck cancers in patients with Sjögren's syndrome

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate prevalences of head and neck cancers in patients with and those without Sjögren's syndrome using a population‐based dataset.MethodsWe retrieved sampled patients from Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. This study included 38 930 patients with Sjögren's syndrome and 155 720 propensity‐score matched comparison patients without Sjögren's syndrome.ResultsChi‐squared tests revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the prevalences of head and neck cancers between patients with Sjögren's syndrome and comparison patients (1.77% vs. 1.22%, p < 0.001). The odds ratio for head and neck cancers for patients with Sjögren's syndrome relative to the comparison group was 1.452 (95% CI = 1.325–1.592).ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that patients with Sjögren's syndrome face increased odds of head and neck cancers, encompassing several sites including the oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, and thyroid.