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Course of oral lichen planus: a retrospective study of 808 northern Italian patients
Author(s) -
Carbone M,
Arduino PG,
Carrozzo M,
Gandolfo S,
Argiolas MR,
Bertolusso G,
Conrotto D,
Pentenero M,
Broccoletti R
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-0825.2009.01516.x
Subject(s) - medicine , oral lichen planus , retrospective cohort study , tongue , dermatology , etiology , basal cell , surgery , pathology
Objectives: To undertake a retrospective inspection of the general features, clinical presentation and outcome of 808 Italian patients with oral lichen planus (OLP), followed up from 6 months to 17 years. Results: The mean age was 61 years for women ( n = 493) and 58 years for men ( n = 315). More than 20% of the total cases had liver abnormalities ( n = 164) of which 83.5% infected with hepatitis C virus ( n = 137). The reticular and plaque form were the predominant type, affecting almost 60% of patients. 12.3% of patients had also extraoral manifestation, taking into account the skin ( n = 63) and genital ( n = 24). Symptoms were present in 40% of the total patients. Only less than 2.47% of patients underwent remission, whereas 78% still had oral lesions at the end of the follow‐up period. Treatment was directed towards almost 42% of the patients, mainly using topical corticosteroids. Oral squamous cell carcinoma developed in 15 patients, commonly arising on the lateral border of the tongue. Conclusion: This is one of the largest groups of OLP patients with such long a follow‐up ever reported. We confirm the chronic nature of this disorder, rarely remissive and the treatment intend for alleviating symptoms. OLP is established to be a disease with small frequency of malignant transformation.