Abstract

Background: The immunodetection of VEGF, ANG-1 and 2 was investigated in oral lichen planus (OLP) and in control groups to compare angiogenesis between lesions with different degrees of aggressiveness.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was performed in 21 reticular (ROLP) and 11 atrophicerosive (AEOLP) specimens of OLP and in 10 cases of oral fibroepithelial hyperplasia (OFH), oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Results: The results do not revealed significant difference in the immunodetection of ANG-1 and ANG-2 between OLP groups. The ROLP group showed significantly greater immunodetection of VEGF compared with the EOLP group. The comparison between the OLP group and each control group showed significantly greater levels of ANG-1 in the OLP group compared to the OFH group and no significant difference in ANG-2. VEGF levels in the OLP group were significantly higher than in the OFH group and significantly lower compared to the OSCC group.

Conclusion: In this small sample, the results indicate that angiogenesis in OLP cannot be associated to the different clinical forms of this disease. The lack of correlation between the markers in the OLP groups suggests the involvement of other pro-angiogenic agents and reflect the complexity this process and the necessity for further studies. Immunodetection of these growth factors in the OLP and OED groups was similar, demonstrating that angiogenesis in OLP may behave similarly to OED.

Keywords: Oral lichen planus; Angiogenesis; Vegf; Ang-1; Ang-2