Comparative Effect of Topical Tacrolimus and Topical Isotretinoin in Patients with Oral Lichen Planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic autoimmune, mucocutaneous disease that has been treated for decades with different topical and systemic medicament that have been reported to be effective and includes topical and systemic corticosteroids, retinoid, ultraviolet phototherapy (PUVA), immunosuppressant and  immune. But a resistant to treatment and a high risk of toxicities limit their use. This work was aimed to compare the effect of topical tacrolimus 0.1% gel and topical Isotretinoin 0.1% gel in patients with oral lichen planus. The samples groups are Twenty-eight Patients (16 females and 12 male, mean age 33.6 ±11.3 years; 14 patients per treatment group) with symptomatic erosive and atrophic OLP randomized in double-blind study to be treated with tacrolimus gel 0.1% (group A) or isotretinoin 0.1% gel (group b). The Results show High significant effectiveness of tacrolimus compared to isotretinoin in reducing oral pain and significant difference in reducing the signs of OLP. It can be concluded that the use of topical tacrolimus 0.1% gel is more effective than Isotretinoin 0.1% gel in the reducing of the pain and sings of oral lichen planus.