Although rarely reported, esophageal lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can lead to debilitating symptoms. It is reported to affect adult women in the fourth and fifth decades of life. Treatment ranges from medical therapy to endoscopic dilation. Owing to underdiagnoses and limited data on therapies, little guidance is provided in the literature regarding treatment of refractory cases. We report a case of a 68-year-old woman with esophageal lichen planus who had symptoms and lack of histological improvement despite being on budesonide and mycophenolate. She was then transitioned to upadacitinib 30 mg daily and had significant symptomatic and endoscopic improvement.
Keywords: dysphagia; esophageal lichen planus; lichenoid esophagitis; squamous cell carcinoma; upadacitinib.
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American College of Gastroenterology.