Non-Cochrane · prognostic · PM42041670
Malignant Transformation in Extraoral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis in the Context of the Risk in Oral Lichen Planus.
Colafemina Ana Carolina Evangelista, Pedroso Caique Mariano, Perez-de-Oliveira Maria Eduarda, et al. · Dentistry journal · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.3390/dj14040217
Findings
4 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients with extraoral lichen planus (cutaneous, genital or other non-oral mucosal sites) | Presence of extraoral lichen planus (exposure) | Not applicable | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) Follow-up as reported by each study · Subgroup analysis by site (vulvar plus cutaneous), overall model | Pooled proportion 0.02 [0.01, 0.04] GRADE not reported 7 studies · 2575 participants |
| Patients with extraoral lichen planus (cutaneous, genital or other non-oral mucosal sites) | Presence of extraoral lichen planus (exposure) | Not applicable | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) Follow-up as reported by each study · Overall (all anatomical sites) | Pooled proportion 0.01 [0.00, 0.03] GRADE not reported 8 studies · 15675 participants |
| Patients with extraoral lichen planus (cutaneous, genital or other non-oral mucosal sites) | Presence of extraoral lichen planus (exposure) | Not applicable | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) Follow-up as reported by each study · Vulvar lichen planus | Pooled proportion 0.02 [0.02, 0.03] GRADE not reported 6 studies · 504 participants |
| Patients with cutaneous lichen planus | Presence of extraoral lichen planus | None (single-group proportion) | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients) Cutaneous lichen planus cohort · Cutaneous | Proportion 0.00 [0.00, 0.01] GRADE not reported 1 study · 2071 participants |
Included primary studies 10
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boch 2021 Retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics and patient-reported outcomes in vulval lichen planus: Results from a single-center… PMID:34668211 | 2021 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Cooper 2006 Influence of treatment of erosive lichen planus of the vulva on its prognosis. PMID:16549703 | 2006 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Fahy 2017 Lichen planus affecting the female genitalia: A retrospective review of patients at Mayo Clinic. PMID:29031660 | 2017 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Halonen 2018 Cancer risk of Lichen planus: A cohort study of 13,100 women in Finland. PMID:28857160 | 2018 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Hieta 2025 Risk of Vulvar HSIL and Penile Neoplasias in Anogenital Lichen Planus: A Case-Control Study. PMID:39951645 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kirtschig 2005 Mucosal vulval lichen planus: outcome, clinical and laboratory features. PMID:15857455 | 2005 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Lyra 2021 Erosive Vulvar Lichen Planus and Risk of Vulvar Neoplasia. PMID:33214502 | 2021 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Regauer 2014 Vulvar cancers in women with vulvar lichen planus: a clinicopathological study. PMID:24999271 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Santegoets 2010 A retrospective study of 95 women with a clinical diagnosis of genital lichen planus. PMID:20885160 | 2010 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
| Sigurgeirsson 1991 Lichen planus and malignancy. An epidemiologic study of 2071 patients and a review of the literature. PMID:1952973 | 1991 | this review only | Malignant transformation (proportion of patients developing cancer) | not extracted yet |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Patients with extraoral lichen planus (cutaneous, genital, esophageal or other non-oral mucosal sites); clinical and/or histopathological diagnosis | Patients with extraoral LP (n=15829; 93.1% female); sites mainly vulvar, also cutaneous, esophageal, ocular |
| Intervention | Presence of extraoral LP (exposure) | Extraoral LP (n=10 studies) |
| Comparison | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Outcomes | Prevalence (proportion) of malignant transformation | Malignant transformation: 100 cases reported; pooled proportion 1% (8 studies, n=15675) |
| Study designs | Cohort and case-control studies | 9 cohort studies and 1 case-control study; 8 cohort studies in meta-analysis |
| Timing | Not specified | Follow-up 19.3 to 72 months where reported |