Chronic ulcerative stomatitis associated with a specific immunologic marker.

Abstract

Four elderly women with chronic oral ulcerations are described. The lesions are chronic, erosive, or ulcerative; occur on the gingival, buccal, or lingual mucosa; and may occur in the form of desquamative gingivitis. The histopathologic findings are nondiagnostic. The disease is refractory to local and systemic corticosteroids, but treatment with hydroxychloroquine may be effective. Both in vivo binding to the oral mucosa and skin of a stratified epithelium-specific antinuclear antibody and high titers of these antibodies in serum are markers of this disease, which we refer to as chronic ulcerative stomatitis associated with stratified epithelium-specific antinuclear antibody.