Contemporary issues in the diagnosis of oral pemphigoid: a selective review of the literature.

Pemphigoid is a group of bullous diseases that have a diversified morphologic presentation and affect the skin, oral mucosa, and other mucosal membranes, alone or in combination. In the literature, the condition has been subclassified into bullous pemphigoid and cicatricial pemphigoid (mucous membrane pemphigoid) on the basis of the primary organ of involvement. In addition to the clinical presentation and a subepithelial vesicle or bullae on routine histologic analysis, the diagnosis is based on direct and indirect immunofluorescence studies. Recent investigations indicate that different clinical groups of patients with pemphigoid produce autoantibodies to different molecules within the basement membrane zone. Based on these recent observations and a review of the literature, a viewpoint is presented that not all patients with cicatricial pemphigoid should be grouped together. Rather, they should be classified into subgroups-ocular, oral, etc-on the basis of the clinical phenotype and long-term follow-up. Such a division will facilitate the provision of appropriate and relevant treatment plans; if the clinical course changes, the diagnosis can be adjusted. This strategy will prevent patients with disease limited to the oral cavity from receiving systemic drugs or agents that may be more harmful than beneficial.