ABSTRACT
Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic, relapsing muco-cutaneous inflammatory disease with unknown etiology. Genital LP (GLP) may be isolated or occur in association with either oral or skin involvement. Vulvovaginal LP mostly affects women in their perimenopausal and postmenopausal years but it may present at any time in adult life. A prevalence of 3.7% for VVLP on vulvar biopsies was found in the practice of a vulvar clinic. The penile shaft and coronal sulcus may be involved too. Koebernization can be seen. In papular form, penile LP may show whitish, violaceous or reddish-brown papules, without scaling, which tend to coalesce into plaques. GLP may clinically resemble other inflammatory, infectious, or tumoral diseases such as plasma cell mucositis, lichen sclerosus, contact dermatitis, psoriasis, fixed drug reaction, erythema multiforme, autoimmune blistering disorders, genital warts, candidiasis, and genital intraepithelial neoplasia. Diagnosis of GLP may be challenging, especially in the absence of cutaneous lesions, so the histopathological examination of a biopsy may be necessary.
