The beneficial effect of topical cyclosporine in erosive lichen planus was first reported for oral lesions in 19881 and confirmed by a double-blind study 2 years later.2 The efficacy of this local therapy in erosive vulvar lichen planus was also reported.3 However, no formal pharmacokinetic study monitored blood cyclosporine levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic diffusion of cyclosporine after topical application in oral and vulvar erosive lichen planus.
Subjects and Methods.
Eight patients (seven women and one man) (mean age, 51.6 years; age range, 30 to 72 years) with oral and/or vulvar erosive lichen planus were included in a prospective study. All patients gave oral informed consent. Lichen planus was confirmed in all cases by histologic examination. All patients had experienced previous treatments without success (ie, topical retinoids or corticosteroids, dapsone), or with major side effects (systemic corticosteroids). The mean evolution of