LICHEN-PLANUS ASSOCIATED WITH NEOPLASIA - A CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNE-RESPONSE TO TUMOR-ANTIGENS

Background: Individual case reports have suggested an occasional assoc iation of lichen planus with internal malignancy. bjective: Our purpos e was to describe five patients with a neoplastic disease in whom lich en planus developed. Methods: Serologic and immunopathologic studies w ere conducted. Results: No evidence of autoantibody production charact eristic of paraneoplastic pemphigus was found, and antibodies reactive with basal cell keratinocytes were not detected. Conclusion: Lichen p lanus may be rarely induced by neoplasia. A cell-mediated immune react ion possibly causes this phenomenon.