Reticular Oral Lichen Planus

Italian Consensus on the treatment of oral lichen planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory condition of uncertain etiology affecting oral mucosae by T-cell mediated chronic inflammation. It affects between 1% and 3% of the global population, predominantly middle-aged adults (50-60 years), with a higher incidence in women. The immune response is thought to target keratinocytes, leading to cell death, particularly through CD8+ T lymphocytes. OLP manifests in various clinical forms, such as reticular, papular, erosive, and atrophic, with the reticular subtype being the most common. Erosive OLP is the most severe, characterized by widespread oral erosions, while atrophic OLP often follows erosive stages, affecting the tongue with a depapillated surface. Currently, no curative treatment exists for OLP, and the management focuses on symptom relief, including reducing pain and discomfort. Thus, a multidisciplinary approach involving dermatologists, oral surgeons, and dentists is often required. For this reason, the scientific community represented in Italy by the Mucosal Diseases Study Group of SIDeMaST (Italian Society of Dermatology and Venereology) reports its experience in the management of OLP, providing clinical recommendations for dermatologists based on the latest scientific evidence to optimize the treatment and management of OLP.

Oral Lichen Planus: A Narrative Review Navigating Etiologies, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnostics, and Therapeutic Approaches

Background/Objectives: Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is a common immune-mediated inflammatory disorder affecting the oral mucosa, impacting 0.5% to 2% of the global population, primarily middle-aged women. Immunological dysregulation is a key factor in OLP's pathogenesis, involving CD4+ T helper and CD8+ T cytotoxic cells. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies OLP as a potentially malignant disorder, with a risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) developing in up to 2% of lesions. This narrative review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the etiopathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic strategies for OLP, informing clinical practice and guiding future research. Methods: A review of the literature from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases was conducted up to December 2023, focusing on studies addressing the etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, and treatment of OLP. Results: OLP's pathogenesis is driven by immune dysregulation, with CD4+ and CD8+ cells playing crucial roles. Clinically, OLP presents as reticular, erosive, bullous, and plaque-like lesions. Diagnosis relies on clinical examination, histopathology, and direct immunofluorescence. Recent advancements in diagnostic markers and imaging techniques have improved detection and monitoring. Treatment primarily involves corticosteroids, but novel therapies such as curcumin, retinoids, and laser therapy are increasingly used for their effectiveness and reduced side effects. These treatments show promise in symptom reduction and recurrence prevention, although long-term data are needed. Conclusions: Regular screenings and biopsies are essential due to OLP's likelihood of malignant transformation. This study urges further investigation into long-term results, improved diagnostic techniques, and evidence-based treatment regimens.

Role of Oral Microbiota Dysbiosis in the Development and Progression of Oral Lichen Planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the oral cavity with malignant potential affecting 1.01% of the worldwide population. The clinical patterns of this oral disorder, characterized by relapses and remissions of the lesions, appear on buccal, lingual, gingival, and labial mucosa causing a significant reduction in the quality of life. Currently, there are no specific treatments for this disease, and the available therapies with topical and systemic corticosteroids only reduce symptoms. Although the etiopathogenesis of this pathological condition has not been completely understood yet, several exogenous and endogenous risk factors have been proposed over the years. The present review article summarized the underlying mechanisms of action involved in the onset of OLP and the most well-known triggering factors. According to the current data, oral microbiota dysbiosis could represent a potential diagnostic biomarker for OLP. However, further studies should be undertaken to validate their use in clinical practice, as well as to provide a better understanding of mechanisms of action and develop novel effective intervention strategies against OLP.

Reticular Oral Lichen Planus: A Clinical Experience of ENT Surgeons

Reticular Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic autoimmune disease that presents as fine, white, linear and lace like lesions of the oral cavity referred to as Wickham striae. The clinical characteristics of 30 patients with reticular oral lichen planus is presented so that cases are not missed/misdiagnosed by ENT surgeons. The clinical records noted for each patient were gender, age and clinical presentation of reticular OLP (site affected, presence of symptoms and extraoral manifestations of the disease, smoking habit, and consumption of alcoholic beverages). Twenty patients were females (66.7%) and 10 (33.3%) were males giving a female to male ratio of 2:1. Majority of patients (50%) among both males and females were in the age group of 31-40 years followed by 41-50 years (20%). Oral discomfort/burning sensation was the chief symptom in 24 (80%) patients followed by asymptomatic oral white patches in 5 (16.6%).The buccal (cheek) mucosa was the site most affected (76.8%) followed by the buccal mucosa plus retromolar trigone mucosa (10%) and tongue (6.6%), Extraoral lesions were observed in 2 (6.6%) of patients at presentation with oral lesions and were on the nails in 1 patient and wrist in 1 patient. Tobacco smoking, alcohol use, diabetes and hypertension were reported in 3 (10%), 0%, 2 (6.7%) and 4 (13.3%) patients respectively. ENT surgeons routinely see patients with oral discomfort/oral ulcerations and as such they should be well versed with classical clinical characteristics of reticular oral lichen planus.

Oral Lichen Planus: Associations Between Histomorphometric Characteristics and White and Red Lesions

Histomorphometry seems to provide more rigid quantitative elements for histological analysis and to bring less subjectivity to the diagnosis of oral lichen planus lesions (OLP). This study aimed to verify the association between white and red lesions and histomorphometric characteristics of OLP lesions. This retrospective cross-sectional study assessed 48 hematoxylin- and eosin-stained histological sections from incisional biopsies obtained from OLP cases. A single previously calibrated evaluator performed the light microscopy analyses to evaluate morphological and morphometric parameters. Analyses of associations among variables were performed using the Fisher's exact test. Morphometric variables were assessed using the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test. Comparisons among the three groups (age range) were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. In this study, 81.2% of the participants were women aged < 50 years. Keratosis, acanthosis, and inflammatory infiltrates were noted in 10.4, 10.4, and 37.5% of moderate/severe cases, respectively. Inflammatory infiltrate (52.1%), papillary projections (54.2%), saw teeth (12.5%), basal layer degeneration (39.6%), and Civatte bodies (68.8%) were also observed. There was no significant association between lesion type and clinicopathological variables (p > 0.05) or between lesion type and histological (p > 0.05) and morphometric variables (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the morphometric variables analyzed did not differ between white and red lesions (p > 0.05) or in their associations with clinicopathological variables (p > 0.05). The results of this investigation showed no associations between white and red OLP lesions and the histomorphometric characteristics evaluated.