Retrospective study of male lichen sclerosus and outcome in Leicester: 1995–9 inclusive: experience of a genitourinary medicine clinic

2 Nasca et al found that malignant changes were associated with 5.8% of the cases of penile LS in their series of 86 patents from Catania and Rome. 3 They emphasise that patients with genital LS are at considerable risk for the development of penile squamous cell carcinoma, as well as verrucous carcinoma and erythroplasia of Queyrat. 3 They also suspect that epithelial dysplasia per se may be precancerous. 3 Reports in general on LS from GUM clinics are rare; notably Bingham reported a solitary malignancy in LS in 1978 from a GUM clinic in a 39 year old man. 4 Recent studies on LS have shown that susceptibility to the disease may be partly genetically predetermined by having certain human leucocyte antigens-namely, class II loci HLAs, DQ7, or DR11. 5 Also, Clifton et al 6 have recently postulated that there is evidence for the loss of androgen receptors with disease progression in LS; thus supporting a hormonal pathogenesis of LS.