A prospective study of findings and management in 214 patients with oral lichen planus

Abstract

The findings in this prospective study of 214 patients with oral lichen planus were similar to those found in our 1985 evaluation of 570 patients with oral lichen planus. These two groups of patients with oral lichen planus patients constitute the largest series from one clinic. Oral lichen planus was found mainly in women and most commonly on the buccal mucosa. Spontaneous remissions were infrequent (6.5%), as were malignant transformations (2.3%) in a mean follow-up of 7.5 years. The erosive form of oral lichen planus was most common and was almost always associated with pain. Reproducibly successful management of this T-lymphocyte disease was obtained by selective use of systemic and/or topical corticosteroids. Oral lichen planus was not associated with any evident systemic disease, drug, smoking, or genetic predisposition. Although statistically Candida albicans does not appear to occur disproportionately in large samples of patients with oral lichen planus, in some of the Candida-positive patients, antifungal medications appeared to be useful.