Sjögren's syndrome, dysimmunoglobulinaemia and malignant disease.

The occurrence of carcinoma in the stomach and dysimmunoglobulinaemia in a patient who had Sjögren's syndrome is described. This is believed to be the first report of such a case to be found in the literature. Although carcinoma has occasionally been described, in this syndrome its occurrence is probably coincidental and not part of the disease process. There is a greater incidence of lymphoid tumours in Sjögren's syndrome than in the general population. Corticosteroid therapy favourably influenced the immunoglobulin abnormalities and some of the clinical manifestations of the disease. A brief review of the literature concerning Sjögren's syndrome, auto-immunity and malignant disease is included.