Oral lichen planus and chronic hepatitis C: a controversial association.

Our aim was to study the possible association between oral lichen planus and chronic hepatitis C in patients from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Two groups of patients were studied: group 1, 50 patients with oral lichen planus evaluated for the presence of chronic hepatitis C; and group 2, 215 patients with chronic hepatitis C examined for evidence of oral lichen planus. Diagnosis of oral lichen planus in both groups was based on clinical and histologic findings. One case of chronic hepatitis C was diagnosed in group 1 (2.0%), which was not considered statistically significant (P = .464). In group 2, the prevalence of oral lichen planus was 2.3% (5 cases), which showed statistical significance (P = .002). Although our results suggest oral lichen planus as an extrahepatic manifestation of chronic hepatitis C in the studied population, the association between these two entities should be further investigated.