Chronic ulcerative stomatitis (CUS) is a poorly understood disease with clinical and histologic overlap with lichen planus (LP). Unlike classic LP, direct immunofluorescence (DIF) studies in cases of CUS exhibit a granular pattern of IgG in nuclei of basal and parabasal cells. This study assesses the demographic, clinical, histologic, and DIF features of CUS. It is important to differentiate CUS from LP and other vesiculobullous diseases (VBD) because lesions of CUS are resistant to steroid therapy, which is typically used to control LP and VBD. A literature review and IRB-approved retrospective search of CUS was performed within the archives of the University of Florida (UF) Oral Pathology Biopsy Service from 2007 to 2017. Fifty-two cases were identified from the literature and seventeen new cases were identified in our series. All UF patients were female and the median age was 64-years. The majority of patients were Caucasian and the most common location was buccal mucosa. Frequent clinical presentations were pain, erythema, leukoplakia, and ulcerations. Histologic features included epithelial separation, atrophic epithelium, and a chronic inflammatory infiltrate. All cases were confirmed with DIF testing that showed a speckled pattern of IgG staining in basal and parabasal cell nuclei. Fibrinogen was present in eleven cases and two cases were positive for C3. The results of our series are in accordance with the literature. Since CUS has overlapping features with LP and VBD, clinicians and pathologists should consider this entity and confirm diagnosis with DIF testing when recalcitrant oral ulcerative diseases are encountered.
Keywords: Chronic ulcerative stomatitis; Direct immunofluorescence antibody technique; Histology; Oral pathology.