Comparative Study between Intralesional Steroid Injection and Oral Lycopene in the Treatment of Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Introduction: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a premalignant condition with rising incidence due to increase in addictive habits like arecanut and tobacco chewing. Various treatment modalities have been tried including steroid injections though new interest in use of natural plant pigments like lycopene has occurred. Aim: The aim was to compare the efficacy of intralesional steroid injection with oral lycopene in the treatment of OSMF. Methodology: A randomized prospective study of 75 patients of OSMF who were divided into three groups of 25 each. Group A patients received weekly intralesional triamcinolone (40 mg/ml) injections, Group B received oral lycopene 6 mg daily, and Group C received both weekly steroid injection and oral lycopene for 2 months respectively. Mouth opening as inter-incisor distance (mm) and burning sensation in the mouth using visual analog scale were recorded weekly. Results: Mouth opening values for the patients showed a mean increase of 6.56 mm, 3.04 mm and 7.56 mm in Groups A, B and C, respectively. Lycopene showed an early reduction in the burning sensation with a mean score of 4.8 in group B by the 1st week itself which was highly significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Lycopene can be used as a first-line drug in the management of OSMF or even as an adjuvant with steroids giving excellent results.