Frequency of the Relative Presence of Hepatitis C Virus Genome in Oral Lichen Planus

Abstract

Statement of problem: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an immunologic mucocutanous disorder. Many factors such as stress, diabetics, HCV, Trauma and hypersensitivity have been introduced as its predisposing factors. Recently, much attention has been paid to the relationship between HCV and OLP.Purpose: According to different specifications of the virus in different races and geographic conditions, the purpose of this study was the assessment of the presence of HCV in oral lichen planus lesions.Materials and Methods: We prepared 43 paraffin blocks (29 from OLP and 14 from normal oral mucosa). The OLP blocks were selected from the archive of Pathology department, dental faculty, Esfahan University of Medical Science. After preparing H & E slides from the paraffin blocks, diagnosis of the lesions was confirmed by a pathologist. Then, all the samples were examined by PCR for HCV genome. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and Fisher's Exact test with Pvalue of 0.05.Results: Among 43 samples examined, 3 were positive and 26 negative in the OLP group and all the 14 samples belonging to the normal mucosa were negative.Conclusion: According to this study, there was no significant correlation between the presence of Hepatitis C virus genome and OLP lesions (p>0.05). So, researches on other viruses that are effective in oral diseases with more cases and also doing PCR on the blood and serum of OLP patients are recommended.Key words: Hepatitis C Virus, Oral Lichen Planus, Polymerase Chain Reaction