Does treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus influence its prognosis?
OBJECTIVE: To record the clinical features, symptomatic response to topical steroids, and resolution of clinical signs in a large cohort of female patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus. DESIGN: Descriptive cohort study with a mean follow-up of 66 months. SETTING: The vulvar clinics of a teaching hospital and of a district general hospital in Oxfordshire, England. PATIENTS: Three hundred twenty-seven patients (74 girls and 253 women) with a definite clinical diagnosis of vulvar lichen sclerosus. Interventions The patients received topical steroids as part of their normal care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptomatic response to treatment (good, partial, or poor); response of the vulvar signs (total, partial, minor, or poor); and the presence or absence of moderate or severe scarring. RESULTS: The mean age at onset was 5.4 years in girls and 55.1 years in women and first-choice therapy was an ultrapotent topical steroid for 50% of the girls and 89% of the women. Response to treatment was reco
