Oral cavity carcinoma in patients with and without a history of lichen planus: A comparative analysis.

Cancer arising from OLP has peculiar characteristics compared to cancer in naïve patients. It most commonly affects younger patients, women, and nonsmokers. It is usually diagnosed at earlier stages and appears to have less aggressive behavior at presentation. Moreover, when 2- and 5-year survival is analyzed, it appears that patients in OLP group have an overall and a disease-free survival advantage. These results suggest that cancer from OLP is less aggressive and thus has a potential biological difference with cancer arising in non-OLP patients. Further clinical and basic investigations are needed to confirm the results of this study.