April 18, 2007 — Oral lichen planus (OLP) and oral erosive lichen planus (OELP) may respond to methotrexate or pimecrolimus, respectively, according to the results of 2 studies reported in the April issue of the Archives of Dermatology. For OLP, a laddered therapeutic approach is effective; for OELP, 1% pimecrolimus cream is effective and well tolerated but requires long-term application.
"Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can cause local irritation and discomfort with attendant poor dentition and nutrition," write Dorothea C. Torti, BA, from Wake Forest University Health Sciences in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues. "Although a range of therapeutic options is available, data on the long-term efficacy of treatments for this chronic disease are limited. To identify agents that might be effective in OLP treatment over a longer term, and to explore their sequential use in treatment-refractory patients, we studied patients who received multiple OLP therapies and who were followed up for an average of more than 2 years."
Torti and colleagues performed a retrospective medical record review of 50 treatment-refractory patients (35 women; age range, 41 - 80 years) with histologically confirmed, erosive OLP seen in a university dermatology clinic between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2005.
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