Lichen planus and hepatitis virus infections: causal association?

BACKGROUND

The causal association between hepatitis virus infections and lichen planus (LP) remains a matter of controversy. Reliable figures for German patients are still lacking.

METHODS

We analyzed the prevalence of serum antibodies against hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV) in 265 LP patients and compared the results to 257 patients with chronic urticaria (URT) and 222 patients with malignant melanoma (MM). Additionally, we analyzed age- and sex-specific differences.

RESULTS

The prevalence of HBV (13.2 % or 14.7 %) antibodies was significantly higher in patients with LP and URT patients than in the MM control group (HBV: 5.4 %, p < 0.001). The prevalence of HCV antibodies among LP and URT patients (2.6 % or 0.8 %) was not significantly greater (p > 0.05) than in MM patients (0.4 %). The prevalences of HBV and HCV in the MM control group were comparable to those in the general German population (HBV: 5-8 %, HCV: 0.4-0.7 %). An analysis by sub-groups showed that these differences resulted from sex- and age-dependent prevalences. HBV antibodies were significantly more common only in male LP patients (16.1 %) and in male (20.0 %) and female URT patients (15.6 %) aged 31-60 years. The greater prevalence of HCV in female LP patients older than 60 years of age was not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

LP is not specifically associated with hepatitis B or C antibodies in the Caucasian population of Germany. The higher prevalences of HBV antibodies found in LP and URT patients may be a reflection of age- and sex-related factors rather than disease-specific exposure to HBV infections. The increased prevalences seen in patients with LP or URT compared to MM patients may suggest that HBV infection serves as an unspecific trigger for a specific immune reaction of another origin.