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Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Author Spotlight: Unlocking the Mysteries of Oral Potential Malignancies
Published on: August 11, 2023
Fractal analysis of mucosal microvascular patterns in oral lichen planus: a preliminary study
Alberta Lucchese1, Enrica Gentile1, Giovanni Capone2
1Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Dental Specialties, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to assess local vascular architecture in atrophic-erosive oral lichen planus (OLP).
Materials And Methods:
We investigated the capillary structure of the oral mucosa in 31 patients with OLP and 32 healthy controls. Capillaries images were captured in vivo through a capillaroscope. We applied fractal analysis to quantify the microvasculature morphometric changes in the oral mucosa of atrophic-erosive OLP patients in terms of their fractal dimension (D).
Results:
The oral vascular networks of atrophic-erosive OLP lesions had a significantly higher D, both in buccal mucosae (D=1.167, P=.019) and in tongue (D=1.196, P=.038), compared with the control population (1.123 for both locations, respectively).
Conclusions:
The present study confirms previous literature data on a close relationship between abnormal vascular architecture and atrophic-erosive OLP. Fractal analysis provided a quantitative descriptor of the complexity of the vascular patterns, which increases in the OLP samples. These data may provide new information on the OLP pathogenesis, as well as serve as morphologic quantifiers for monitoring treatment strategies.
