CASE REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Rheumatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1602370
This article is part of the Research TopicSarcoidosis Diagnosis and Treatment Based on EtiologyView all 7 articles
Sarcoidosis or tuberculosis? A con2nuous challenge
Provisionally accepted
Irina Ruxandra Strambu1*
Ana Beer2- 1Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- 2Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology, Bucharest, Romania
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Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by the formation of non-caseating granulomas in affected tissues and organs. In over half of the cases, the disease undergoes spontaneous remission. In contrast, tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which, if left untreated, can be fatal. Sarcoidosis and tuberculosis exhibit numerous overlapping clinical, radiological, and histopathological features, including the presence of epithelioid cell granulomas with multinucleated giant cells. Historically, a potential etiological role of M. tuberculosis in sarcoidosis has been proposed; however, this hypothesis has not been conclusively supported by current evidence or therapeutic outcomes.Differentiating between these two entities poses a significant diagnostic challenge, particularly in regions with a high prevalence of tuberculosis. The diagnostic complexity is further heightened in cases where a concomitant occurrence of both conditions is suspected. In such scenarios, the absence of a definitive biomarker hampers the ability to discern whether the diseases coexist independently or share a pathogenic link. This article reviews the current evidence on the association between sarcoidosis and tuberculosis and explores potential pathways to elucidate their etiological interrelationship.
Keywords: Sarcoidosis, Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Epithelioid granuloma, Pathogenesis
Received: 29 Mar 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Strambu and Beer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Irina Ruxandra Strambu, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, 020022, Bucharest, Romania
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