Lichen planus of uterine cervix - the first report of a novel site of occurrence: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Lichen planus is an immune mediated inflammatory lesion involving skin and mucosal sites including oral mucosa, vulva and rarely vagina. Lichen planus occurring at mucosal sites has been shown to be associated with squamous cell carcinoma in a proportion of cases. To the best of our knowledge, no case of lichen planus of uterine cervix has been reported in the available literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old female underwent vaginal hysterectomy for uterine prolapse. The resected specimen showed a bluish-colored area in the non-dependent part of the ectocervix. Microscopic sections from this area showed dense lymphocytic infiltrate at the junction of mucosa and submucosa causing disruption of the basal cell layer. On immunohistochemical examination there was predominance of CD8+ T lymphocytes at the junction with scattered CD4+ T lymphocytes, characteristic of lichen planus. Based on the history and negative serum antibody titers, other differential diagnoses including lupus erythematosus and drug reaction were excluded. The patient did not have any cutaneous or oral lesions of lichen planus. CONCLUSION: Lichen planus of uterine cervix is a hitherto unreported entity, and is worth studying considering the premalignant potential of lichen planus at other mucosal sites.