title: Mucosal lichen planus, a systemic disease requiring multidisciplinary care:  a cross-sectional clinical review from a multidisciplinary perspective.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to emphasize the importance of seeing mucosal lichen planus (LP) as a systemic disease and not an isolated oral or genital disease and to analyze the proportion of thyroid antibodies among patients with multimucosal LP.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients examined by the authors and diagnosed with mucosal LP within 1 year were consecutively included. Full medical histories were collected with special emphasis on autoimmune and thyroid diseases. Sera were analyzed for thyroid antibodies and underwent serologic test for herpes virus. The control group comprised 83 healthy volunteers matched regarding sex and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the patients, 120 were included, 89 (74%) of whom were women and 31 (26%) were men. The vast majority of the patients had multifocal lesions, whereas oral lesions solely were found in 28% of women and 36% of men. Of the patients, 28% had at least 1 additional autoimmune disease. Approximately half of the women were treated with levothyroxine owing to thyroid disease. Antibodies against herpes simplex virus were found in 60% of the patients and 44% of the controls (p < .03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lichen planus with mucosal involvement should be considered and taken care of as a systemic disease and not as an isolated oral and/or genital lichen. Contradictory to many former reports, most of our patients have a multimucosal disease that emphasizes the need for a multidisciplinary clinic to get optimal care and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Odontology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.forename: Lotta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lundqvist
authors.forename: Ylva Britt
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Wahlin
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nylander
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008010:Lichen Planus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies