alitretinoin and Lichen-Planus

Treatment of nail lichen planus (LP) is difficult and an optimal therapy is lacking.. To report additional cases to the scant existing literature to learn more about therapeutic options for nail LP.. A regimen of 30 mg alitretinoin daily in 2 cases of nail LP over a period of 9 and 8 months, respectively.. In either case, nail changes showed marked improvement under oral alitretinoin therapy within 2 and 4 months, respectively. In both patients, affected nails with end-stage destructive pterygium were resistant to any previously applied therapy.. Alitretinoin is an effective treatment option for nail LP. We recommend early diagnosis of nail LP and early initiation of systemic therapy with alitretinoin to prevent the development of pterygium and permanent nail damage. However, further clinical studies are needed to establish reliable guidelines for nail LP therapy.

Topics: Alitretinoin; Antineoplastic Agents; Female; Fingers; Humans; Lichen Planus; Male; Middle Aged; Nail Diseases; Nails, Malformed; Tretinoin

Therapy-resistant lichen planus (LP) can be a challenging condition for dermatologists. There are some case reports about successful treatments with alitretinoin of cutaneous and oral, but not of esophageal LP.. We present the unique case of a patient with cutaneous, oral and esophageal LP which was refractory to classical treatment options (topical clobetasol propionate and pimecrolimus, intramuscular triamcinolone acetonide); because of systemic side effects the patient did not tolerate systemic acitretin dosed up to 25 mg daily.. Oral alitretinoin was used at a dose of 30 mg daily.. Both oral and skin changes as well as dysphagia completely resolved within 4 weeks without any severe side effects and the drug was used for 6 months. No papules, intraoral striae or dysphagia recurred during the 6 months of treatment. After 4 months the patient relapsed with mucosal patches so that a second cycle was initiated for 6 months where oral LP lesions resolved after 4 weeks also (with sporadic mild headache).. Further studies are needed to better understand the impact of alitretinoin in LP. Our observation suggests alitretinoin as a new, well-tolerated treatment option for esophageal LP after failed response to conventional treatments.

Topics: Alitretinoin; Antineoplastic Agents; Deglutition Disorders; Esophageal Diseases; Female; Humans; Lichen Planus; Lichen Planus, Oral; Middle Aged; Tretinoin

Topics: Acitretin; Alitretinoin; Humans; Lichen Planus; Nail Diseases

Topics: Acitretin; Alitretinoin; Humans; Keratolytic Agents; Lichen Planus; Lichen Planus, Oral

Topics: Administration, Oral; Adult; Alitretinoin; Antineoplastic Agents; Female; Humans; Lichen Planus; Male; Middle Aged; Nail Diseases; Nails; Retinoid X Receptors; Tretinoin

Topics: Administration, Oral; Aged; Alitretinoin; Antineoplastic Agents; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Lichen Planus; Middle Aged; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome; Tretinoin

Topics: Adult; Alitretinoin; Humans; Lichen Planus; Male; Nail Diseases; Treatment Outcome; Tretinoin

Topics: Administration, Oral; Alitretinoin; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Lichen Planus; Male; Middle Aged; Skin; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Tretinoin