Language

English

Publication Date

3-1-2026

Journal

Cureus

DOI

10.7759/cureus.104909

PMID

41959985

PMCID

PMC13060205

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

3-9-2026

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Vitiligo and lichen sclerosus (LS) are autoimmune dermatoses that may share overlapping clinical and histopathologic features, posing diagnostic challenges when they occur concurrently. We report a biopsy-confirmed case of vulvar vitiligo and LS in a 61-year-old woman presenting with pruritic, depigmented patches on the labia majora and minora. Histopathologic examination showed epidermal thinning with papillary dermal hyalinization and a dense, band-like lymphocytic infiltrate consistent with LS. Melan-A immunostaining demonstrated a complete absence of epidermal melanocytes, confirming concurrent vitiligo rather than LS-related post-inflammatory hypopigmentation. This case underscores the importance of correlating subtle clinical clues with melanocyte-specific immunostains to distinguish coexistent vitiligo and LS, enabling accurate diagnosis, appropriate management, and reduction of long-term risks such as scarring or malignant transformation.

Keywords

autoimmune dermatopathology, lichen sclerosus, melan-a immunostain, vitiligo, vulvar dermatoses

Published Open-Access

yes

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