title: Oral lichen planus versus epithelial dysplasia: difficulties in diagnosis.
abstract: Histopathological diagnosis of oral lichen planus is not easy since some cases of epithelial dysplasia may present traits which are very similar to those from lichen planus.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to compare cell alterations which suggest malignancy present in oral lichen planus with those from epithelial dysplasia.
  
  
  METHODS
  histological cross-sections of oral lichen planus and dysplasia, dyed by hematoxylin-eosin, were analyzed by means of light microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  variance analysis (alpha=5%) revealed a statistically significant difference between the average number of cell alterations in the lichen planus (5.83 + or - 1.61) and epithelial dysplasia (4.46 + or - 1.26). The chi-squared test did not show statistically significant differences between oral lichen planus and epithelial dysplasia in relation to the following cell alterations: increase in nucleus/cytoplasm ratio, nuclear hyperchromatism, irregular chromatin distribution and enlarged nuclei (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some cell alterations which suggest malignancy present in the oral lichen planus may also be found in epithelial dysplasia, impairing its diagnosis and, consequently, stressing the importance of following these patients in the long run.
authors.forename: Fernando Augusto Cervantes Garcia de
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Thaís Cachuté
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Paradella
authors.forename: Adriana Aigotti Haberbeck
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Luiz Eduardo Blumer
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000473:pathology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index