[Oral squamous cell carcinoma and lichen planus vs. lichenoid lesions. Case report]

Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2016 Sep-Oct;54(5):673-9.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Background: The development of squamous cell carcinoma from oral lichen planus is controversial. We report a case of intraoral squamous cell carcinoma, which presents together with lesions of oral lichen planus. The aim of this report was to analyze the problem to distinguish between the incipient changes of squamous cell carcinoma from the features described in oral lichen planus, in order to establish an accurate diagnosis of both entities.

Clinical case: A 57-year old man with a history of smoking and chronic alcohol intake, who had an ulcerated tumor mass located in the tongue, and bilateral white reticular patches on buccal mucosa and borders of the tongue. The histopathological report was moderately differentiated invasive squamous cell carcinoma and lichen planus respectively.

Conclusions: The premalignant nature of OLP is still indeterminate and controversial, this is primarily due to inconsistency in the clinical and histological diagnostic criteria used to differentiate cases of oral lichen planus from lichenoid reactions or other lesions causing intraepithelial dysplasia with high potentially malignant transformation. Oral lichenoid reactions are possibly most likely to develop malignant transformation as compared to the classic OLP lesions.

Introducción: el desarrollo de carcinoma escamocelular a partir del liquen plano bucal es controversial. Describimos un caso con carcinoma escamocelular intrabucal, que cursa con lesiones de liquen plano bucal y se analizan las dificultades para distinguir los cambios incipientes del carcinoma escamocelular de las lesiones por liquen plano intrabucales que lleven a establecer un diagnóstico certero de ambas entidades. Caso clínico: hombre de 57 años, con antecedente de tabaquismo y hábito alcohólico crónico, que presenta lesión tumoral ulcerada en borde lateral izquierdo de lengua y placas blancas reticulares bilaterales en mucosa yugal, bordes laterales y vientre de lengua. El reporte histopatológico fue de carcinoma escamocelular invasor moderadamente diferenciado y liquen plano respectivamente. Conclusiones: la naturaleza premaligna del liquen plano bucal es controvertida, esto por inconsistencia en los criterios diagnóstico clínicos e histológicos que permitan diferenciar los casos de liquen plano bucal de otras lesiones como las reacciones liquenoides o displasias intraepiteliales con alto potencial de malignización. Posiblemente las reacciones liquenoides bucales tienen un mayor riesgo de transformación maligna al compararse con el clásico liquen plano bucal.

Keywords: Lichen planus; Mouth neoplasms; Squamous cell carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / diagnosis
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Lichen Planus / diagnosis
  • Lichen Planus / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mouth Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Mouth Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Precancerous Conditions / diagnosis
  • Precancerous Conditions / pathology*