Platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of lichen sclerosus

AIM: Evaluate the clinical effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma as a treatment for lichen sclerosus. METHODS: A systematic review was performed. The electronic databases PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE(®), Web of Science, Cochrane, clinicaltrials.gov were used to identify case studies, case series, prospective uncontrolled, and randomized controlled studies published between 1946 and April 21, 2021. Six prospective uncontrolled studies, one randomized double-blind prospective study, and one case report were included. RESULTS: Platelet-rich plasma treatment was subjectively reported to improve quality of life, but objective measures demonstrating treatment efficacy were not observed. In addition, platelet-rich plasma preparation and administration between studies lacked standardization. CONCLUSION: Platelet-rich plasma may be used for symptomatic adjuvant treatment of lichen sclerosus, though additional double-blind controlled studies with standardized platelet-rich plasma protocols are needed to better characterize the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma.