Systematic review of current systemic treatment options for erosive lichen planus

Abstract

Erosive lichen planus (ELP) is an extremely painful condition characterized by ulcerative oral and genital lesions that cause desquamation of the epithelium and bleeding. ELP is more common in women, often recalcitrant to medical therapy and may result in transformation to squamous cell carcinoma. The objective of this review was to assess the evidence in support of various systemic therapies for ELP. PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were queried from 1966 to 2009 using the term 'treatment' in combination with 'erosive lichen planus', 'mucosal lichen planus', 'vulvar lichen planus', 'oral lichen planus' or 'vulvovaginal gingival syndrome'. A total of 424 cases, 417 of which met the selection criteria, were identified. Each therapeutic option was scored using the stevens healthcare needs assessment scale for quality and level of evidence, and then weighted based on prevalence of use to arrive at an overall assessment score and rank order. © 2012 Expert Reviews Ltd.