INTRODUCTION: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a familiar inflammatory disease commonly seen in dental practice. Oral lichen planus' pathophysiology is not fully understood.
OBJECTIVES: The current research was aimed to determine the level of IL-6 in the saliva and the apoptosis-related marker soluble Fas (sFas) in OLP patients versus healthy controls before and after triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% in orabase application and to explore their roles in the etiology of OLP and if there is any possible correlation between the two studied markers.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 30 subjects were allotted into two equal groups. Group I (control): included 15 healthy individuals. Group II (OLP): included 15 patients who were formerly diagnosed with OLP and showed acute exacerbation at time of 1st examination. Present pain intensity (PPI) and Thongprasom clinical sign scoring were used on group II patients before and 1 month following treatment. Salivary samples for detection of IL-6 and sFas were collected once from group I and twice in group II.
RESULTS: OLP group had higher values of IL-6 and sFas in their salivary samples that were statistically superior to those in the control group. In group II, following treatment, a significant reduction of PPI, Thongprasom sign scoring, IL-6 and sFas values was noticed. A weak positive correlation was found between IL-6 and sFas before and after treatment.
CONCLUSION: Salivary IL-6 and sFas concentrations in OLP group were higher than their values in control group and considerably decreased following therapy, confirming their usefulness in OLP diagnosis.