Association of oral lichen planus with hepatic disorders and hepatocellular carcinoma: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a prevalent autoimmune chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. The importance of the association between hepatic disease and OLP lies in the fact that many of these disorders (HC, HB, cirrhosis, hepatic steatosis) behave as risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. Material and Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies published before January 2022. We evaluated the quality of studies (Joanna Briggs Institute tool). We performed meta-analyses, investigated the heterogeneity between studies, and we also carried out subgroups, meta-regression, and small -study effects analyses. 146 studies (21,187 patients) were included in this study. Our study aims to evaluate current evidence on the prevalence and magnitude of association between hepatic diseases (especially those with risk of malignancy), hepatocellular carcinoma and OLP. Results: Our results suggest that patients with OLP present a significant tendency to the development of hepatitis B (OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.01-2.40, p=0.02), hepatitis C (OR=4.09, 95%CI=2.77-6.03, p<0.001), cirrhosis (OR=5.58, 95%CI=1.83-16.96, p=0.002), hepatic steatosis (OR=5.71, 95%CI=0.97-33.60, p=0.05) and hepatocellular carci-noma (OR=3.10,95%CI=1.14-8.43, p= 0.03). Conclusions: Patients with OLP should be investigated to rule out the presence of hepatic disease, which can lead to hepatocellular carcinoma, allowing an early diagnosis that would help to a better approach to liver disease and a notable improvement in prognosis in terms of both progression and severity.

Automated summary

This study aims to evaluate the association between oral lichen planus (OLP) and hepatic diseases, including hepatocellular carcinoma. The results suggest that OLP patients have a tendency to develop hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, hepatic steatosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, it is important to investigate hepatic disease in OLP patients for early diagnosis and better management.