Oral lichen planus and HLA A

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is autoimmune disease that appears on the oral muc osa only, or in combination with shin lesions. The occurrence of squamous c ell carcinoma in areas of lichen erosions makes it necessary to follow up p atients suffering from chronic Lesions. Prevalention in, general population varies from 0.9% to 1.2% and varies in different ethnic groups. It is know n that cell-mediated immune mechanisms and genetic factors underline OLP pa thogenesis. We tested 50 OLP unrelated patients (5 males) for HLA A and com pared them to 1089 healthy controls. OLP patients had 3 times Less frequent ly HLA A w 19 and 5 times less frequently HLA A28, compared with controls. Erossive OLP type had 4 times less frequently HLA A11 and 2 times Less freq uently HLA A26 than plaque form. In conclusion, HLA A w19 and A 28 appeared associated with OLP in particular, while HLA All and A26 with erossive typ es of OLP.