Medical Management of Oral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review

Systemic non-steroidal immunomodulators for oral lichen planus treatment-a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this scoping review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of systemic nonsteroidal immunomodulators (SNSI) for oral lichen planus (OLP) treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This review was conducted according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines and registered at PROSPERO (CRD42021243524). Consulted databases were Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria was as follows: clinical trials, case series, prospective, and retrospective studies conducted with participants presenting OLP of any sex and age.

RESULTS

Thirty-two studies were selected, assessing 9 different SNSI: methotrexate, dapsone, levamisole, hydroxychloroquine, thalidomide, metronidazole, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, and colchicine. Methotrexate and dapsone were the drugs with the best evidence among the options included, regarding number and quality of studies. Methotrexate resulted in significant improvement in the clinical condition and remission of symptoms, ranging between 63 and 93% of cases. Dapsone presented a similar effect to the use of topical corticosteroids and tacrolimus CONCLUSION: Among SNSI therapeutic options, methotrexate, and dapsone showed promising efficacy and safety. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials are still needed.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

SNSI have been used in the treatment of recalcitrant OLP; however, so far, it is not clear which are the best options. This scoping review highlights the potential use of methotrexate and dapsone.

Clinical Evaluation of Efficacy of Triamcinolone Acetonide with Tacrolimus in the Management of Oral Lichen Planus: A Pilot Prospective Observational Study

INTRODUCTION

Lichen planus (LP) is a relatively common chronic, mucocutaneous disease of autoimmune origin, involves oral mucosa, skin, scalp, nails, and genital mucosa. The prevalence of oral LP (OLP) varies worldwide, commonly seen in middle-aged and elderly people. It usually presents as symmetrical and bilateral or multiple lesions with burning sensation (BS) sometimes accompanied by pain. Corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors have shown promising results in the treatment of OLP, but its chronic course and unpredictable exacerbations/remission continues to result in a high degree of morbidity. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (injection TA) combined with topical application of TA orabase and Tacrolimus (TAC) ointment for symptomatic cases of OLP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The prospective study included 52 symptomatic OLP patients to receive (0.5 ml) intralesional injection of TA once a week for the first 4 weeks followed by one injection in the 6^th week along with TA mucosal paste (0.1%.) and TAC ointment (0.03%) in tapering dose till 8^th week. The subjective symptoms including BS and pain were assessed on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) and objective signs like size and site of the lesion were scored according to criterion scale modified by Thongprasom et al. Differences were compared after 8 weeks treatment course and follow-up observations were performed at 20^th week to record any recurrent lesion.

RESULTS

41 patients (78.8%) had complete remission of disease and 11 (21%) had shown partial improvement. The VAS scores for BS and pain improved significantly. Improvement was also noted with decrease in the average size of active lesions and the number of sites with treatment. The relapse was seen in 17 patients (41%) in the 20^th week.

CONCLUSION

TA combined with TAC is a valuable therapeutic option for the treatment of symptomatic OLP. Our findings suggest that patients have shown statistically significant improvement.

Efficacy of Herbal Interventions in Oral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review

Introduction:

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic autoimmune condition requiring prompt treatment to alleviate the signs and symptoms. There is weak evidence emphasizing the efficacy of any one therapy. Steroids, of all the therapies, have proved to be effective and hence considered as the standard care for OLP. However, the complications associated with it further worsen the patient's condition. Alternative safe approaches such as herbal interventions (HIs) have been tried in OLP. Their efficacies could only be evaluated from properly designed research protocols such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The present systematic review aims to assess the efficacy of HIs compared to steroids in RCTs involving OLP.

Materials and Methods:

An extensive search for HIs in OLP was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and gray literature. Eight studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria.

Results:

In all the studies, clinical severity was significantly reduced in within-group comparisons, whereas between-group comparisons showed nonsignificant results, except for total glucosides of paeony capsules.

Conclusion:

Efficacy of herbal therapy in OLP should be weighed against the high bias in the studies.

Combination Therapy with 1% Nanocurcumin Gel and 0.1% Triamcinolone Acetonide Mouth Rinse for Oral Lichen Planus: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a combination of 1% nanocurcumin gel with 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide mouth rinse for oral lichen planus (OLP).

Materials and Methods

This double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 31 patients with erosive or ulcerative OLP. All patients received 0.1% triamcinolone mouth rinse and were then randomly divided into two groups for combination therapy with (I) %1 nanocurcumin gel or (II) placebo gel. The reticular-erosive-ulcerative (REU) score was calculated at baseline and at two and four weeks after the intervention. The changes in the mean REU score and the efficacy index were calculated to determine the level of improvement after two and four weeks. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, repeated measures ANCOVA, Mann–Whitney test, and chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

There were 14 patients in the nanocurcumin and 17 patients in the placebo group. A significantly higher decrease in the mean REU score was observed in the nanocurcumin compared with the placebo group (P < 0.001). The efficacy index was significantly higher in the nanocurcumin group (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Application of 1% nanocurcumin in combination with 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide can serve as an effective treatment strategy to enhance the level of improvement of lesions compared with the use of triamcinolone acetonide alone.

Interventions for treating oral lichen planus: corticosteroid therapies

BACKGROUND

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common chronic T cell-mediated disease, which can cause significant pain, particularly in its erosive or ulcerative forms. As pain is the indication for treatment of OLP, pain resolution is the primary outcome for this review. This review is an update of a version last published in 2011, but focuses on the evidence for corticosteroid treatment only. A second review considering non-corticosteroid treatments is in progress.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects and safety of corticosteroids, in any formulation, for treating people with symptoms of oral lichen planus.

SEARCH METHODS

Cochrane Oral Health's Information Specialist searched the following databases to 25 February 2019: Cochrane Oral Health's Trials Register, CENTRAL (2019, Issue 1), MEDLINE Ovid, and Embase Ovid. ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched for ongoing trials. There were no restrictions on language or date of publication.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We considered randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of any local or systemic corticosteroid treatment compared with a placebo, a calcineurin inhibitor, another corticosteroid, any other local or systemic (or both) drug, or the same corticosteroid plus an adjunctive treatment.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Three review authors independently scanned the titles and abstracts of all reports identified, and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane tool and extracted data from included studies. For dichotomous outcomes, we expressed the estimates of effects of an intervention as risk ratios (RR), with 95% confidence intervals (CI). For continuous outcomes, we used mean differences (MD) and 95% CI. The statistical unit of analysis was the participant. We conducted meta-analyses only with studies of similar comparisons reporting the same outcome measures. We assessed the overall certainty of the evidence using GRADE.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 35 studies (1474 participants) in this review. We assessed seven studies at low risk of bias overall, 11 at unclear and the remaining 17 studies at high risk of bias. We present results for our main outcomes, pain and clinical resolution measured at the end of the treatment course (between one week and six months), and adverse effects. The limited evidence available for comparisons between different corticosteroids, and corticosteroids versus alternative or adjunctive treatments is presented in the full review. Corticosteroids versus placebo Three studies evaluated the effectiveness and safety of topical corticosteroids in an adhesive base compared to placebo. We were able to combine two studies in meta-analyses, one evaluating clobetasol propionate and the other flucinonide. We found low-certainty evidence that pain may be more likely to be resolved when using a topical corticosteroid rather than a placebo (RR 1.91, 95% CI 1.08 to 3.36; 2 studies, 72 participants; I² = 0%). The results for clinical effect of treatment and adverse effects were inconclusive (clinical resolution: RR 6.00, 95% CI 0.76 to 47.58; 2 studies, 72 participants; I² = 0%; very low-certainty evidence; adverse effects RR 1.48, 95% 0.48 to 4.56; 3 studies, 88 participants, I² = 0%, very low-certainty evidence). Corticosteroids versus calcineurin inhibitors Three studies compared topical clobetasol propionate versus topical tacrolimus. We found very low-certainty evidence regarding any difference between tacrolimus and clobetasol for the outcomes pain resolution (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.88; 2 studies, 100 participants; I² = 80%), clinical resolution (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.99; 2 studies, 52 participants; I² = 95%) and adverse effects (RR 0.05, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.83; 2 studies, 100 participants; very low-certainty evidence) . One study (39 participants) compared topical clobetasol and ciclosporin, and provided only very low-certainty evidence regarding the rate of clinical resolution with clobetasol (RR 3.16, 95% CI 1.00 to 9.93), pain resolution (RR 2.11, 95% CI 0.76 to 5.86) and adverse effects (RR 6.32, 95% CI 0.84 to 47.69). Two studies (60 participants) that compared triamcinolone and tacrolimus found uncertain evidence regarding the rate of clinical resolution (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.35; very low-certainty evidence) and that there may be a lower rate of adverse effects in the triamcinolone group (RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.99; low-certainty evidence). These studies did not report on pain resolution.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Corticosteroids have been first line for the treatment of OLP. This review found that these drugs, delivered topically as adhesive gels or similar preparations, may be more effective than placebo for reducing the pain of symptomatic OLP; however, with the small number of studies and participants, our confidence in the reliability of this finding is low. The results for clinical response were inconclusive, and we are uncertain about adverse effects. Very low-certainty evidence suggests that calcineurin inhibitors, specifically tacrolimus, may be more effective at resolving pain than corticosteroids, although there is some uncertainty about adverse effects and clinical response to tacrolimus showed conflicting results.

Comparison of therapeutic effect of mucoadhesive nano-triamcinolone gel and conventional triamcinolone gel on oral lichen planus

Background:

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic disease without any definitive treatment. Local corticosteroids are often prescribed, but their efficacy has been questioned by many studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nano-based triamcinolone acetonide gel (NT) and compare it with conventional triamcinolone gel (CT) on OLP.

Materials and Methods:

In this triple-blind randomized clinical trial study, 40 patients with Erosive OLP were divided into two groups receiving (CT) and (NT). The patients were requested to apply them four times a day for 2 weeks. The severity of pain was evaluated through visual analog scale, the size of lesions was measured with paper lace, and the appearance of lesions was examined adopting Thongprasom scale . Findings will be significant via independent t-test or Chi-square test with P < 0.05.

Results:

The severity of pain in NT group was 4.9 ± 0.7 cm before the treatment and 1.5 ± 0.9 after that, whereas in CT group, it was 4.9 ± 0.8 and 1.8 ± 0.9, respectively . The mean size of the lesions in NT group was 2.1 ± 1.1 cm before the treatment and 0.8 ± 1.1 afterward, whereas in CT group, was 2.2 ± 1.1 and 1.3 ± 1.1, respectively. The OLP appearance before and after the study in NT group was 4.5 ± 0.5 and 0.8 ± 0.6, respectively, whereas in CT group was 4.6 ± 0.5 and 0.9 ± 0.7 (P = 0.3). Among these variables, only Thongprasom scale on the 6^th and 14^th days had a significant reduction in NT group in comparison with CT group.

Conclusion:

NT has a better impact on OLP in comparison with CT, but this difference is not statistically significant.

The Expression of CXCL10/CXCR3 and Effect of the Axis on the Function of T Lymphocyte Involved in Oral Lichen Planus

The etiology of oral lichen planus (OLP) is still not clear. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of CXC chemokine receptor 3(CXCR3) and its ligand CXC motif chemokine 10(CXCL10) in the pathogenesis of OLP. We examined the expression of CXCR3 and CXCL10 in OLP patients and healthy controls by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting, ELISAs, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Moreover, we detected the effects of CXCL10/CXCR3 axis on T lymphocyte migration, proliferation and apoptosis by Transwell assays, CCK8 assays, and flow cytometry. We found that the expression of CXCR3 and CXCL10 was significantly increased in OLP patients. In addition, T lymphocyte migration rate of CXCL10 stimulation group was significantly higher than that of control and CXCR3 antagonist groups. After antagonizing CXCR3, the migration ability of T lymphocytes was significantly decreased, and regardless of whether CXCL10 was added in the upper chamber culture medium, the number of migrating cells was similar. The addition of CXCL10 stimulant could stimulate the proliferation of T lymphocytes, but there was no significant difference compared with control group. After antagonizing CXCR3, the proliferation rate of T lymphocytes was significantly reduced. However, there were no significant differences in the apoptosis rates of T lymphocytes between CXCL10 stimulation group, antagonist CXCR3 group, and control group. Due to the change of expression in CXCR3 and CXCL10, and its interaction in mediating the directional migration of peripheral blood T lymphocytes, affecting the proliferation of T lymphocytes, it suggests that CXCL10/CXCR3 axis may be related to the immune mechanism of OLP.

Expression of keratinocyte growth factor and its receptor in oral lichen planus

This study aimed to investigate the expression of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and its receptor KGFR in oral lichen planus (OLP). Oral mucosa specimens from 30 OLP patients and ten healthy controls were collected. The expression of KGF and KGFR proteins was detected by immunohistochemistry and the expression of KGF mRNA was detected by in situ hybridization. We observed KGF protein expression but not KGF mRNA expression in the epithelium of both OLP and normal oral mucosa. The expression intensity of KGF protein was much lower in the epithelium of OLP than in that of normal oral mucosa. KGF protein was also expressed in the cytoplasm of some fibroblasts and vascular endothelial cells in the connective tissues underlying the epithelium for both OLP and normal oral mucosa, but the expression intensity of KGF was lower in the connective tissues for OLP. KGF mRNA was expressed in the cytoplasm of some fibroblasts and vascular endothelial cells in the connective tissues underlying the epithelium for both OLP and normal oral tissues. Although KGFR was expressed in vascular endothelial cells of connective tissue and in all epithelium of normal oral mucosa, it was only expressed in the basal layer and prickle layer of the epithelium and in vascular endothelial cells of the connective tissue of OLP. Compared to normal oral mucosa, OLP had lower expression of KGFR in the epithelium but higher expression of KGFR in the connective tissue underlying the epithelium. In conclusion, this study revealed significant differences in the expression intensity and distribution of both KGF and KGFR between OLP and normal oral mucosa tissues. KGF and its receptor KGRF may play an important role in the development and progression of OLP.