Be Aware of Erosive Lichen Planus as Mimicker of Dysplasia in the Vulva

Histologic overlap between differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia and erosive lichen planus may require a multidisciplinary conference for resolution.

Differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (dVIN) is a precursor lesion that can arise from inflammatory diseases like lichen sclerosus (LS) and lichen planus (LP). Around 33% of dVIN evolves to invasive squamous cell carcinoma. This study explores the histologic overlap between LP, erosive type (ELP) and dVIN.

Histologic features, immunohistochemical stains (p53 and p16), and copy variant analyses were performed on samples from five patients with ELP and dVIN (mean age, 76). All ELP patients complained of pain, and 90% exhibited LS. ELP samples showed epithelial thinning, lack of maturation, and nuclear changes of enlargement, pleomorphism, and hyperchromasia. Wild-type p53 was the most frequent pattern seen in inflammatory and dysplas…

Reviewing Author

Angelica Selim, MD

Disclosures

Grant / Research support NIH/NCI, The Plastic Surgery Foundation

Angelica Selim, MD

Disclosures

Grant / Research support NIH/NCI, The Plastic Surgery Foundation

Be Aware of Erosive Lichen Planus as Mimicker of Dysplasia in the Vulva

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Reviewing Author