This is all new to me and I'm not too computer literate so I'm hoping someone will be able to help me. I am 3 weeks post op with gingival (gum)squamous cell ca. Caught early and Dr. feels he go it all ( clear margins). I'm 54 yrs old in good health and this was my first surgery of any kind. Quite the shock to me as I don't have any "factors" related to SCC - I quit smoking 30 years ago and only smoked about 5 years, am a social drinker. The only factor I have is a 5year history of oral lichen planus. When I told my Dr. about that he wasn't so sure it was a factor. My question to anyone out there is have you had a similar experience as mine i.e. OLP and SCC. Thanks for your help.

Hi, Peach, welcome. It looks like you may be "one of a kind" right now. Usually there are some answers right off the bat. But you are in a good place for support when needed, so hang in with us. Amy in the Ozarks

Hi,
I too had lichen planus before being diagnosed with SCC (also gingival). My doctor told me that approximately 3-5 per cent of people with lichen planus will have it progress to SCC. There are different degrees of lichen planus and the most troublesome is the 'erosive' kind, the most acute.

If you do a search of the OCF site for 'oral lichen planus', you will find a wealth of information.

Hope this helps, Sheldon

Thanks to each of you who replied to my post. It's nice to know that people care and are willing to share information. Thanks again ! Fuzzless peach

Fuzz,

Your descriptions sounds pretty much like mine, except I was 53 at the time. What ticks me off is that the oral surgeon who dx'd the lichen planus never mentioned the possibility of SCCA. If he had, I would have been more aware of the changes. Oh, well. I'm almost 5 years out and living a wonderful life.

All the best to you!
Ken

Fuzzless,

I have to chime in here just for a second. Lichen planus, in all forms, tends to be really poorly defined in all I have learned and read.
I send all of my patients with any form of Lichen planus, whether new, or pre-existing that I come into contact with for biopsies.
In my experience, and some literature supports this, it can be a premalignant condition. Long tearm trauma to tissue whether it is mechanical trauma, chemical trauma, or disease induced trauma can predispose a person to cancer. When healing has to occur, which is ongoing with lichen planus, all it takes is one cell to do the wrong thing.

Cheers,

Mike

Hi Ken - thanks for your input. OLP is an odd disease I'm finding out. In the time I've had it I've had various outbreaks in different places in my mouth but it has mostly confined itself to the gumline. I find that stress plays a big role in the number and severity of outbreaks. But this one that turned into SCC was different than the rest and that 's what alerted me to seek another opinion other than my own. Ludkily I just had to have 3 teeth removed and no cancer was found in the jaw bone. I am one month post op, still having pain but feel better every day. Hopefully you and I have had our last battle with SCC. Good to hear you are 5 years out. Take care and enjoy life! Best regards. FP

Hi Mike - thanks for your reply. Good to hear that you are a 10 year survivor - I look forward to the day that I can say that! I wish there were more research being done on OLP as it is such a strange disease. Luckily my SCC was caught early and that I know enough about my particular form of it that the spot that wouldn't heal just didn't look and act like other outbreaks. Even at that I had the spot for a couple of months before I went for a biopsy. I had had my teeth cleaned in December and this spot showed up in late April. Apparently nothing alerted my dentist and hygenist in December. I find that stress has a lot to do with the severity of the outbreaks but if you have any suggestions for me about things to avoid doing, eating or otherwise I'd be grateful if you'd share your thoughts. Thanks again for your input. As a side note, we did a camping tour of the Maritimes in 2002 and thoroughly enjoyed your part of the world. Best wishes to you. FP

HI Fuzzless -
Need to add my husband's experiences too. He too has had both lichen planus (you are correct, it IS indeed a strange idiopathic disease!) and leukoplakia on his gums and cheeks for decades. It wasn't until 2002 (see my "signature", below) that the cells changed into SCC for the first time. He also has lost 3 teeth (2 the first surgery, along with a shaving of jawbone, 1 tooth with another surgery) in the process, but because they CAUGHT IT EARLY all 4 times (last time, on his lip, as the lichen planus "creeped out" onto his lip) and the surgery pathology reports always showed clear margins along with clear scans, so he never went thru radiation. I assume you didn't either, as I didn't read that in your posts? Also, just out of curiosity, do you have any metal in fillings or metal in crowns where your SCC developed? He did have a neck dissection with the first surgery too. Clear nodes.
By the way, thanks Sheldon - we didn't know there were "different degrees of lichen planus". And Dr. Mike, your statement that it (OLP) is "poorly defined" is spot on.
Please keep us informed and stay away from stress! That has been mentioned to my husband too (and the poor guy will be with me 40 years next month!). Warmly, JaneP.