Lack of association between hepatitis C virus and oral epithelial dysplasia in British patients

Oral lichen planus may be a premalignant condition. An association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and oral lichen planus has been described in Southern European and Japanese patients, and recently an association between HCV and oral squamous cell carcinoma was suggested from a study of Japanese patients. The present study investigated the frequency of chronic liver disease and HCV infection in UK patients with oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), a known premalignant disorder. Subjects included 75 patients with histologically proven OED and 110 healthy controls. Liver function and IgG antibodies to HCV were examined serologically. No patient with OED or control subject had serological evidence of hepatic disease, and anti-HCV antibodies were detected in only two (2.6%) of the 75 patients with OED, none of the controls being HCV seropositive. It is concluded that in the UK there is no association between HCV infection and OED.