Objective: To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of a relatively large cohort of patients
with oral lichen planus (OLP) from eastern China.
Study design: A total of 518 patients with histologically confirmed OLP in a long-term follow-up period (6 months-
21.5 years) were retrospectively reviewed in our clinic.
Results: Of the 518 patients, 353 females and 165 males were identified. The average age at diagnosis was 46.3
years (range 9-81 years) with the buccal mucosa being the most common site (87.8%). At initial presentation, white
lichen and red lichen was seen in 52.3% and 47.7% patients, respectively. Of these, 5 (0.96%) patients previously
diagnosed clinically and histopathologically as OLP developed oral cancer. All of them were the females with no
a history of smoking or alcohol use.
Conclusions: Clinical features of eastern Chinese OLP patients were elucidated. Notably, approximately 1% of
OLP developed into cancer, which provides further evidence of potentially malignant nature of OLP
