Understanding the Pathobiology of Oral Lichen Planus

Abstract

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common chronic inflammatory disease. A consistent body of evidence suggests that OLP is a predominantly T-cell mediated disease that shares clinical and histological features with chronic graft versus host disease. A putative genetic predisposition linked to cytokine polymorphisms has been revealed and some possible etiologic factors such as amalgam and hepatitis C virus have been studied in detail. In this review, an overview on the immunopathogenesis of OLP will be provided and a putative comprehensive hypothesis will be discussed in detail. Despite significant advances, many questions still remain concerning the etiology and pathogenesis of OLP.