Malignant development of lichen planus-affected oral mucosa

The present report describes malignant development in oral lichen planus (OLP) among 611 patients (409 F, 202 M) followed for periods from 1-26 years (mean: 7.5). During follow-up, 9 patients (1.5%), 8 women (1.9%) and 1 man (0.5%) developed oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) in areas of lichen planus lesions. The age of the patients at diagnosis of carcinoma ranged from 56-79 years (mean: 70.4) and the length of follow-up before malignant development ranged from 4.9-24 years (mean: 10.1). The estimated number expected to develop oral cancer in a sample of the general Danish population of similar size, age distribution and follow-up was 0.18 (0.11 F, 0.07 M) i.e., OLP cases showed a 50-fold increase (F = 70- M = 14-fold). The observed number of cancer cases was significantly higher than the estimated number (p less than 0.00001). Therefore, oral lichen planus fulfils the WHO criterion of a premalignant condition.     

A retrospective clinicopathological study on oral lichen planus and malignant transformation: Analysis of 518 cases

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of a relatively large cohort of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) from eastern China. Study design: A total of 518 patients with histologically confirmed OLP in a long-term follow-up period (6 months-21.5 years) were retrospectively reviewed in our clinic. Results: Of the 518 patients, 353 females and 165 males were identified. The average age at diagnosis was 46.3 years (range 9-81 years) with the buccal mucosa being the most common site (87.8%). At initial presentation, white lichen and red lichen was seen in 52.3% and 47.7% patients, respectively. Of these, 5 (0.96%) patients previously diagnosed clinically and histopathologically as OLP developed oral cancer. All of them were the females with no a history of smoking or alcohol use. Conclusions: Clinical features of eastern Chinese OLP patients were elucidated. Notably, approximately 1% of OLP developed into cancer, which provides further evidence of potentially malignant nature of OLP. Key words:Oral lichen planus, clinical features, malignant transformation, oral cancer.     

The possible premalignant character of oral lichen planus and oral lichenoid lesions: a prospective study

OBJECTIVES: The possible malignant transformation of oral lichen planus (OLP) is the subject of an ongoing and controversial discussion in the literature. The main criticism of studies on this subject relates to the lack of sufficient data to support the initial diagnosis of OLP in cases that finally developed into squamous cell carcinoma. We describe the possible premalignant character of OLP and oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) of a prospectively followed cohort of patients with detailed documentary data. STUDY DESIGN: A study group of 173 patients, 62 patients diagnosed with OLP and 111 patients with OLL, according to revised, modified World Health Organization diagnostic criteria, was followed up from 6.6 to 72.0 months (mean, 31.9 months). The expected number of patients with oral cancer in the group of patients with OLP and in the group of patients with OLL was estimated by comparing the number of patients, their ages, sex, and the length of follow-up to annual incidence rates of oral cancer for the general Dutch population, to explore the possibility of coincidental carcinomas. The binomial test was used to determine whether the observed number of cases of cancer in the OLP group and the OLL group exceeded the expected numbers. RESULTS: Three of 173 patients (1.7%), 2 men and 1 woman, developed squamous cell carcinomas of the oral mucosa during follow-up. All malignant transformations occurred in the OLL group. The annual malignant transformation rate, based on a mean follow-up of 31.9 months, was calculated as 0.65% per year. A comparison of the expected against actual figures for the development of carcinomas revealed no increase in patients with OLP and a 219-fold increase in patients with OLL, with the latter not statistically significant, but with a P value of .083, suggesting at least a trend. CONCLUSION: Our results give support to the hypothesis that patients with OLL have an increased risk of oral cancer, but this increased risk was not detected in our sample of patients with OLP. Before a final statement with regard to the premalignant character of OLP and OLL can be formulated, the present follow-up study should be prolonged and expanded with a larger number of patients. Until then, we advise that patients with OLP and OLL should undergo biannual follow-up examinations. Follow-up will be particularly important in patients with OLL who have atrophic/erosive/ulcerative lesions.     

Role of TP53 in the progression of pre-malignant and malignant oral mucosal lesions. A follow-up study of 144 patients

Background:  Prediction of progression from pre-malignant oral mucosal lesions to malignancy, or recurrence of an existing oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is an important clinical problem in oral medicine.
Methods:  This study presents a follow-up of a study published in 2002. Samples from 54 patients with OSCC, 45 with oral lichen planus (OLP) and 45 with hyperkeratosis (clinically leukoplakia), diagnosed between 1987 and 1996, were analysed for TP53 protein expression and TP53 mutation. Follow-up was 11–17 years for OSCC (mean 13.3), 12–22 years for OLP (mean 15.9) and 12–17 years for hyperkeratosis (mean 14.5).
Results:  Of the 54 OSCC patients, 28 experienced recurrent disease, 21 died of OSCC, 22 died of other causes. Of the 14 OSCC patients with mutated TP53 ( n  = 11), the cancer recurred in eight (57%) and in 20/39 (51%) without mutation. Expression of TP53 protein was significantly associated with reduced overall survival. Among OLP patients, nine were TP53- mutated out of 31 tested. One TP53- mutated OLP patient developed OSCC in a different site. Of the hyperkeratosis patients, three were mutated of 22 tested. One hyperkeratosis patient (non-mutated) developed OSCC in the same site.
Conclusion:  TP53 mutations can exist in benign oral mucosal lesions for many years without progression to malignancy. No association was found between TP53 protein expression or TP53 mutation and recurrence of OSCC or disease-related survival. Overall survival was reduced in patients with positive TP53 protein expression.     

Oral lichen planus: a retrospective study of 690 British patients

OBJECTIVE: This is the largest UK patient group with oral lichen planus (OLP) to be studied in terms of the demographic and clinical characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were taken from the medical records of 690 consecutive patients referred to Oral Medicine subsequently found to have clinical, and usually histopathological confirmatory features of OLP. Over two-thirds (68.7%) of the patients were Caucasians. RESULTS: Eighty-two per cent of the patients had been referred to a specialist Oral Medicine service by general dental practitioners, 62% of the patients being referred as a consequence of oral mucosal and/or gingival pain. Reticular OLP was the most common intra-oral presentation, but 60% of such lesions were accompanied by other clinical types of OLP. 95% of lesions were bilateral. About 13% of patients reported symptoms or signs, or had a known history of lichen planus or possible lichen planus affecting non-oral epithelia. In only 13% of patients did all signs and symptoms of OLP resolve within 12-246 months (median 35 months). A malignant transformation rate of 1.9% was observed in the present group. CONCLUSIONS: Oral lichen planus in UK persons almost always gives rise to bilateral reticular OLP, rarely resolves spontaneously, and has a low rate of malignant transformation.     

Evaluation on Malignant Transformation of Oral Lichen Planus

目的：口腔扁平苔藓（oral lichen planus,OLP)是否属于癌前病变，至今仍存在较大的争论。本文的目的在于评估OLP的癌变性质。方法：报告1995－2002年之间9例OLP的癌变病例。结果：5例OLP患者同时或继发为口腔鳞状细胞癌，1例为疣状癌，3例为上皮异常增生。其中7例发生在原OLP存在的部位，1例发生在其它部位，1例在同一部位同时存在OLP和鳞状细胞癌。OLP的癌变常发生在糜烂型和萎缩型，发生于颊粘膜，舌或牙龈。根据所制定的OLP的诊断及癌变标准，4例OLP患者发生了癌变。结论：OLP具有一定的癌变潜力，对OLP患者应每年随访2－4次，尤其是对发生在颊粘膜，舌或牙龈的糜烂型和萎缩型的患者。     

口腔扁平苔藓724例的回顾性分析

目的对口腔扁平苔藓（oral lichen planus，OLP）的临床及病理学特点进行大样本量的研究。方法对上海交通大学医学院附属第九人民医院·口腔医学院口腔黏膜科1978年1月至2006年10月的存档病例进行筛选，选出临床及病理诊断为OLP且半年内至少复诊1次的病例共724例，记录病例的性别、年龄、部位、类型、家族史、病理活检、随访时间、是否癌变及系统性疾病史，并对病例资料进行统计学分析。结果本组OLP病例的随访时间从1个月到259个月（平均随访时间为21个月）。在724例患者中，68．23％是女性，31．77％是男性。OLP的累及部位依次为颊部、舌背、舌腹、唇部、牙龈、腭部、口底。在原发的病损类型中，大部分为斑纹型，占总数的53．82％。病损发生在两个部位以上的OLP患者占总数的48．76％。15例发生了癌变，癌变率为2．07％。结论OLP具有癌变潜能，长时间及规律的随访对于监控OLP的恶性转变过程至关重要。     

口腔扁平苔藓癌变的临床研究(附9例报告)

目的：探讨口腔扁平苔藓（OLP）癌变发生特点及规律。方法：对668例OLP病例进行近19年的临床观察及随诊资料统计,并且所有病例均得到组织病理学证实。结果：共发现9例OLP癌变病例,癌变率为1.35%,女性明显多于男性。3例发生在口腔黏膜3个危险区。2例在外界刺激下发生癌变。糜烂型、斑块网纹型病损均可发生癌变。病程15个月至10年不等。结论：OLP癌变患者女性多于男性,口腔黏膜3个危险区好发,外界刺激可诱发癌变,OLP癌变与病损类型无明显关系,癌变病程长。     

DNA ploidy in oral lichen planus,determined by image cytometry

J Oral Pathol Med (2010) 39 : 206–211 Background: The objective of this study was to use image cytometry to determine the degree and frequency of DNA ploidy in biopsies of reticular and atrophic‐erosive oral lichen planus and to analyze 14 karyometric measurements of the nuclei of epithelial cells from each specimen. Methods: A total of 40 slides were analyzed, each of them representing one biopsy of one oral lichen planus (OLP) lesion from each one of the 40 patients (cases) studied. Specimens were embedded in paraffin and comprised 20 slides of reticular oral lichen planus (group R) and 20 slides of atrophic‐erosive oral lichen planus (group AE). Results: Group R, the reticular lichen samples, had 18 diploid cases and two aneuploid cases. Group AE, the atrophic‐erosive lichen samples, had 10 diploid cases, one tetraploid case, and nine aneuploid cases. Of the 14 karyometric measurements of the nuclei of OLP epithelial cells analyzed, the group R mean values for mean density and minimum density were significantly greater than the group AE mean values, and mean roundness in group AE was significantly greater than in group R (t‐test: P < 0.05). Conclusions: The most common degree of DNA ploidy in OLP lesions was diploidy. Comparing the two groups (chi‐square test of association P = 0.021) demonstrated that diploidy was associated with the reticular clinical form of OLP, while aneuploidy was associated with the atrophic‐erosive clinical form of oral lichen planus.     

Clinicopathological features and malignant transformation of oral lichen planus: A 12-years retrospective study

Abstract

Objective. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is known to be associated with the risk of developing oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The objective of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological features of OLP and the prevalence of malignant transformation in this setting. Materials and methods. This retrospective study was carried out on 204 medical records of patients with histologically proven OLP who received long-term follow-up (range 6 months–12 years). Data were entered in an informatic database. The statistical analysis, when needed, was performed with the chi-squared test for significance (p < 0.05). Results. At the moment of the diagnosis, out of 204 patients (163 female and 41 male; mean age 54.5 years), 107 patients (52.45%) suffered from systemic chronic diseases, in particular 46 (22.5%) from hepatitis C. Clinically, the reticular form of OLP was the predominant one and most patients had multiple oral sites of involvement. Fourteen patients showed extra-oral lesions. A percentage of malignant transformation less than 1% was found. In fact, two patients (0.98%) underwent a malignant transformation at a site previously diagnosed as OLP. Conclusions. At present, OLP is accepted as being a potential malignant disorder, therefore lifelong follow-up is recommended.     

Course of oral lichen planus: a retrospective study of 808 northern Italian patients

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.     

Oral lichen planus and malignant transformation: a retrospective follow-up study of clinical and histopathologic data.

OBJECTIVE: Patients in the stomatology service of the Department of Oral Surgery and Stomatology who were clinically and histopathologically diagnosed with oral lichen planus (OLP) in the years 1995 to 2001 were examined for a possible malignant transformation of a previously biopsied OLP site. METHOD AND MATERIALS: For the 145 patients included, the recordings were searched for initial localization and type of OLP lesion, potential noxious agents, distribution between symptomatic and asymptomatic OLP types, and for a malignant transformation of a known OLP site during the follow-up period up to December 2003. RESULTS: The group comprised 47 men and 98 women with a mean age of 56.3 years. Of the 497 lesions, almost half were classified as reticular or papular, predominantly located on the buccal mucosa, gingiva, and borders of the tongue. Four patients did not adhere to their scheduled control visits and were dropped from the study. During the follow-up period 4 patients developed malignant transformation of OLP. In 3 of these cases, dysplasia was present at the initial diagnosis of OLP. This results in a malignant transformation rate of 2.84% among the remaining 141 patients; if the 3 patients with initial dysplasia are excluded, the rate drops to 0.71%. CONCLUSIONS: Until further knowledge is derived from large prospective studies, the data supporting or negating a potential malignant character of OLP lesions remains inconclusive. Special emphasis has to be directed toward unified inclusion and exclusion criteria regarding clinical and histologic findings and identifiable risk factors to allow the comparison of different studies.     

Oral mucocutaneous diseases: clinicopathologic analysis and malignant transformation

Oral mucocutaneous diseases (MCDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that could involve oral mucous membrane frequently. The purpose of this study was analysis of clinicopathologic features and relative frequency of MCDs with emphasize on malignant transformation of oral lichen planus (OLP). In this retrospective study, clinical data regarding to site of involvement, patient's age and sex, and accompanied symptoms were noted, and pathologic slides of OLP were reviewed for the detection of dysplastic changes. Among 309 patients, OLP and pemphigus vulgaris were the first and second most common MCDs. Buccal mucosa was the most frequent affected site. Female predominance (70.23%) and mean age of 45.3 years were seen. Approximately 12.4% of OLPs showed dysplastic and neoplastic changes. In conclusion, MCD with oral manifestation is most probably to be OLP and pemphigus vulgaris rather than other rare disorders. Malignant transformation may occur in all forms of OLP, and hence, regular, exact follow-up of the patient is necessary for enhancing quality of life.     

口腔扁平苔藓合并食道扁平苔藓的诊治及相关文献复习

目的总结分析口腔扁平苔藓（OLP）合并食道扁平苔藓（ELP）的临床发生率、诊出方法、治疗和恶变倾向。 方法对236例OLP确诊患者,根据主诉及问诊有胸部不适、胸前灼痛、烧灼感、吞咽困难、食道狭窄、进食不畅等症状,获得知情同意后进一步进行食道胃镜检查及病理活检,筛选合并ELP,进行规范治疗和追踪。 结果18例出现了ELP病损,OLP合并出现ELP发生率为7.6%（18/236）。其中2例11.1%（2/18）早于OLP出现食道非典型增生,1例5.5%（1/18）已早于OLP出现恶变为食道鳞状细胞癌。 结论扁平苔藓是全身性疾病,ELP和OLP均属于黏膜的慢性炎症性疾病,两者间存在关联性。口腔科医生接诊OLP患者时,应该关注其全身其他部位的病损,尽早发现其他部位早期而隐匿的恶变,以免造成误诊和漏诊。     

Malignant transformation in 1458 patients with potentially malignant oral mucosal disorders: a follow-up study based in a Taiwanese hospital

BACKGROUND: It is generally accepted that the development of cancer in the oral mucosa is preceded by an identifiable non-invasive precursor lesion. The aim of this follow-up study was to estimate the rate and the time to transformation in a group of patients from southern Taiwan with potentially malignant oral epithelial lesions. METHODS: The follow-up time is defined as the duration between the onset of the initial diagnosis and the occurrence of confirmed oral cancer. A total of 1458 patients with histological diagnoses of various pre-malignant oral lesions were followed up between 1991 and 2001. The average age at initial diagnosis was 47.5 years. The histological diagnoses were divided into six categories: epithelial dysplasia with hyperkeratosis/epithelial hyperplasia (8.85%); epithelial dysplasia with submucous fibrosis (2.54%); submucous fibrosis (27.57%); hyperkeratosis/epithelial hyperplasia (29.01%); lichen planus (9.80%) and verrucous hyperplasia (22.22%). RESULTS: Within the cohort of 1458 patients, 44 patients progressed to oral cancer in the same site as the initial lesions with an overall transformation rate of 3.02% and a mean follow-up time of 42.64 months. Eight of the 166 patients with dysplastic lesions and 15 of 423 patients with hyperkeratosis/epithelial hyperplasia progressed to malignancy. The other patients with malignant transformation originated from various pre-cancerous oral lesions and conditions (submucous fibrosis, eight of 402; lichen planus, three of 143; verrucous hyperplasia, 10 of 324). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that patients with pre-malignant oral lesions need long-term follow up.     

A clinical study of 674 patients with oral lichen planus in China

BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease with different clinical presentations that can be classified as reticular, atrophic or erosive. Although OLP is a relatively common disorder, the reports comprising large numbers of OLP patients with specific character are lacking in the literature. The purpose of this paper was to describe the clinical characteristics of OLP in 674 Chinese patients. METHODS: A total of 674 charts of patients with histologically confirmed OLP were collected from Stomatological Hospital of Wuhan University between 1963 and 2003. RESULTS: Of the 674 patients, 65.9% were women and 34.1% were men. The most common clinical presentation was the reticular type (51.3%), and symptomatic OLP was noted in 67.5% of the patients, mainly in those with the erosive form. The erosive presentations showed significantly longer duration, more sites affected and a much greater old patients predominance than reticular or atrophic ones. About 90.9% of the patients had multiple oral sites of involvement and isolated lower lip lichen planus were observed in 60 cases (8.9%) and isolated gingiva lichen in only one case (0.2%). Skin involvement of lichen planus was found in 11.4% of patients. No statistically significant differences could be identified between OLP and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, smoking or alcohol use. Precipitating factors that resulted in an exacerbation of the disease were frequently noted and included foods, stress, dental cusp and poor oral hygiene. The transformation of OLP into malignancy was observed in four patients at sites previously diagnosed by clinical examination as erosive or atrophic lichen planus. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with OLP in China usually present with distinctive clinical morphology and characteristic distribution and few may display lesions with a confusing array of forms mimicking other diseases. A long time follow up is of utmost importance to detect its malignant transformation.     

Malignant potential of oral lichen planus: observations in 722 patients from India

Abstract The malignant potential of oral lichen planus was assessed on the basis of observations in 722 patients found among 27,599 individuals examined in various epidemiologic studies in Kerala, Ernakulam district, India. Seven hundred and two patients with oral lichen planus were re-examined annually over a 10-year period with a mean observation period of 5.1 years. Most of the lesions (93%) were observed among tobacco users. Carcinoma developed in 3 (0.4%) patients with oral lichen planus. Clinically, all 3 had atrophic components in their lesions, and all were tobacco users. The relative risk of a lichen planus developing oral cancer compared to a tobacco user was estimated as 3.3. However, this relative risk was not significant. Histologically, 74% of the 94 biopsies from oral lichen planus showed epithelial atrophy. Two of the 3 in whom cancer developed also showed epithelial atrophy. It is felt that epithelial atrophy probably renders the mucosa more vulnerable to the carcinogenic action of tobacco. Although this study could not confirm the precancerous nature of this disease with a high degree of certainty, the disease did not appear to be innocuous either.     

Malignant potential of oral lichen planus: observations in 722 patients from India

The malignant potential of oral lichen planus was assessed on the basis of observations in 722 patients found among 27,599 individuals examined in various epidemiologic studies in Kerala, Ernakulam district, India. Seven hundred and two patients with oral lichen planus were re-examined annually over a 10-year period with a mean observation period of 5.1 years. Most of the lesions (93%) were observed among tobacco users. Carcinoma developed in 3 (0.4%) patients with oral lichen planus. Clinically, all 3 had atrophic components in their lesions, and all were tobacco users. The relative risk of a lichen planus developing oral cancer compared to a tobacco user was estimated as 3.3. However, this relative risk was not significant. Histologically, 74% of the 94 biopsies from oral lichen planus showed epithelial atrophy. Two of the 3 in whom cancer developed also showed epithelial atrophy. It is felt that epithelial atrophy probably renders the mucosa more vulnerable to the carcinogenic action of tobacco. Although this study could not confirm the precancerous nature of this disease with a high degree of certainty, the disease did not appear to be innocuous either.     

Prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus in oral squamous cell carcinoma,oral lichen planus,and normal oral mucosa

OBJECTIVE: The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with both malignant and benign diseases in the head and neck region. In several studies it has also been associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a disease with unknown origin, and viral antigens have been proposed as etiologic agents. Smoking and alcohol habits are known risk factors for oral cancer development. In this study, the prevalence of EBV in OSCC and OLP was investigated, along with the effect of smoking, alcohol use, and age on EBV prevalence. STUDY DESIGN: We examined 29 patients with OSCC, 23 with OLP, and 67 with clinically healthy oral mucosa. For EBV DNA analysis, a nested polymerase chain reaction method was used. RESULTS: The overall EBV prevalence in patients with oral disease was 32.1%. Of the OSCC patients, 37.9% were EBV positive; and of the OLP patients, 26.1% were EBV positive. Both percentages were statistically significant compared with that of control patients (7.3%). The difference in EBV prevalence between the smoking control group and the nonsmoking control group was insignificant. Increased age did not enhance EBV prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation shows that EBV is present in oral diseases such as OSCC and OLP. Smoking, alcohol use, or age does not seem to be a risk factor for EBV infection. The etiologic role of EBV in OSCC and OLP needs to be examined in a prospective follow-up study.