Oral lichen planus: key features of etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, and management.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing disease mechanisms, clinical presentation, and management.
What was done
This paper is a narrative review evaluating the etiopathogenesis, clinical categorization, histopathology, malignant transformation risk, and management approaches for oral lichen planus (OLP).
What was found
The review outlines six clinical subtypes divided into hyperkeratotic (reticular, papular, plaque-like) and erosive (atrophic, erosive, bullous) variants driven by T-lymphocyte-mediated autoimmunity. It reports pooled malignant transformation rates of 1.43% for OLP overall and 5.13% for OLP presenting with dysplasia, emphasizing personalized symptom control (pain and burning) and long-term surveillance.
Why it matters
It provides clinicians with a consolidated framework for recognizing the varied clinical forms of OLP and reinforces the necessity of long-term monitoring given its documented potential for malignant transformation.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative overview rather than a systematic review; search strategies, study inclusion criteria, sample sizes, and confidence intervals for the reported transformation rates are not provided.
Cited by
- contradicts Oral lichen planus is caused by a pathogenic microbe, fungus, or bacteria growing in the mouth.