ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT06158113Updated Oct 30, 2026

Efficacy and Safety of Baricitinib in Oral Lichen Planus: a Proof-of-Concept Study

A Phase 2 interventional study of Baricitinib 4 milligram Oral Tablet in Lichen Planus, Oral, Lichen Planus, Mucosal and Oral Lichen Planus, sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-30.

Sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Oct 30, 2026Now CompletedEnrollment updatedGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
10
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn the effects of baricitinib (the study drug) in patients with Oral Lichen Planus. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • What is the efficacy of baricitinib in treating moderate to severe Oral Lichen Planus?
  • Can baricitinib treatment in Oral Lichen Planus change quality of life?
  • What side effects do patients with Oral Lichen Planus experience when treated with baricitinib?

Participants will be required to come in to monthly visits for up to eight months. During visits, participants will be:

  • Evaluated for the extent of their disease
  • Asked to fill out a questionnaire about their quality of life
  • Given baricitinib for them to take at home for six months
  • Evaluated for any potential side experienced while on treatment
  • Asked to return 1 month after completing treatment
02

Conditions studied

  • Lichen Planus, Oral
  • Lichen Planus, Mucosal
  • Oral Lichen Planus

Keywords

  • Jak inhibitor
  • Janus kinase inhibitor
03

In context

Lichen Planus, Oral

142 studies on the registry are indexed under Lichen Planus, Oral; 27 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 10 is below the median of 39 across 101 interventional studies indexed under Lichen Planus, Oral.

Browse Lichen Planus, Oral studies →

Lead sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is the lead sponsor of 1,372 studies on the registry; 133 are open to participants now.

Of its 161 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 139 (86%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Voluntarily signed an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved .
  2. Be at least ≥ 18 years old.
  3. proven Oral Lichen Planus (OLP)
  4. OLP patients with moderate to severe OLP, and must have failed or not tolerated at least one non- systemic treatment for OLP (such as metronidazole, hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, acitretin, rituximab, thalidomide, cyclosporine, apremilast, dapsone or systemic calcineurin inhibitor).
  5. Subjects should practice daily oral hygiene (defined as brushing teeth twice daily) and be willing to maintain their routine oral hygiene procedure during study participation.
  6. Willingness to abstain from certain mouth products during the course of the study
  7. Must be willing to not receive any during and up to 30 days after the end of treatment.
  8. Vaccination status of subjects should be reviewed prior to study entry. Subjects must be encouraged to receive non-live vaccines following centers of disease control (CDC) guidelines for vaccination of those ≥18 years of age to prevent infectious disease 30 days before baseline.
  9. Individuals who can potentially become pregnant must have a negative urine pregnancy test at screening and must be confirmed negative at time of enrollment (baseline visit).
  10. Individuals who can potentially become pregnant must agree to use a highly effective form of when engaging in sexual intercourse with a male partner during the study and for 30 days after the last dose.
  11. Male subjects must be willing to use a highly effective method of contraception or practice true abstinence from sexual intercourse during the study and for 30 days after the last dose.
  12. Must be able to comply with study instructions and attend all study visits.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Absolute lymphocyte count \<750cells/mm\^3 within 30 days of starting study drug
  2. \<1200cells/mm\^3 within 30 days of starting study drug
  3. \<10.0g/dL within 30 days of starting study drug
  4. count \<100,000 cells/mm\^3 within 30 days of starting study drug
  5. Fasting cholesterol levels >400mg/dL or >10.34mmol/L within 30 days of starting study drug or levels that may have required hospitalization, caused pancreatitis, or became life threatening.
  6. Serum triglycerides >500mg/dL or >5.7mmol/L within 30 days of starting study drug.
  7. Chronic liver disease with severe hepatic impairment as defined in the protocol.
  8. Inadequate renal function tests defined as an estimated (eGFR) based on the most recent available creatinine using the chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration equation (CKD-EPI) creatinine 2009 equation of \<60 millimeters/minute/1.73 meters squared (m\^2) within 30 days of starting study drug.
  9. Ongoing active or recent clinically serious fungal, bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection.
  10. History of gastrointestinal perforation
  11. History of heart attack or significant cardiovascular risk that in the investigator's judgement, the risks of the subject participating in the study is greater than its benefit.
  12. Hypercoagulable state such as history of deep vein thromboembolism (VTE) or stroke OR are considered at high risk of VTE.
  13. History of cancer (except treated cutaneous basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ (cSCCis) and in situ cervical cancer) unless it can be documented that the patient has been in a disease-free state for at least 5 years for high grade cancers with the following exception:

    • In case of clinical suspicion of in the oral cavity, a patient can only be included after an excluding
    • Any history of squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma (even if resected) in the mouth, as well as history of other non-squamous cell carcinoma (e.g., sarcoma, salivary gland tumors) in the mouth are excluded.
  14. Subjects who may have signs of lymphoproliferative disease, such as lymphadenopathy or splenomegaly unless stable for the last 5 years
  15. Professional dental cleaning within 2 weeks prior to baseline
  16. Patient with any un-healed oral surgery (including recent diagnostic biopsies, if applicable) or oral laser therapeutic wound(s) at baseline visit
  17. Subjects must have failed at least one systemic therapy for OLP to be included in the study. Appropriate for past medications received and stable doses for other medications should be followed as outlined in the protocol.
  18. to Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors.
  19. Subjects with any serious concomitant illness that is anticipated to require the use of systemic or otherwise interfere with study participation or require active frequent monitoring (e.g., unstable chronic asthma)
  20. Subjects who require major surgery within 8 weeks of baseline and/or during the study are excluded.
  21. Current participation in another clinical study and/or having received treatment with any non-marketed / medicinal product (drug substance or medical device) within 30 days prior to baseline or 5.5 half-lives, whichever is longer.
  22. Intention to become pregnant during the study period (30 days after stopping investigational product)
  23. Intention to breastfeed until 30 days after stopping investigational product.
  24. Any other condition that in the investigator's judgement the subject's risks are greater than the benefit from participating in the study or may interfere with interpretation of data.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(13)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Live vaccines

Vaccines made with a weakened form of the germ, such as measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), chickenpox and yellow fever. They can be risky when the immune system is weakened. Flu injections are not live; the nasal flu spray is.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Washout period

A planned gap after a treatment, so that its effects can lessen before the study treatment or a study assessment. Ask the study team and the doctor who prescribed it before changing any medicine.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
10 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Baricitinib

    Participants will be asked to take 4mg of baricitinib by mouth daily for up to 24 weeks.

    Drug: Baricitinib 4 milligram Oral Tablet

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Oral Disease Severity Scale (ODSS) Scores

    The Oral Disease Severity Scale (ODSS) is a validated tool to assess severity of Oral Lichen Planus. For scoring, the oral cavity is divided into 17 sites and assigned three different scores. A site score, which captures disease extent, a severity score, and an activity score which is obtained by multiplying the site and severity scores. Independently study participants are asked to fill in a numerical rating scale graded from 0-10, with zero meaning no pain and 10 being the worst imaginable pain felt within the last 4 weeks. Scores are added together and range from 0-106, with higher scores meaning more severe disease. Overall change from baseline to week 24 will be reported.

    Time frame: Baseline, 24 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in Quality of Life as assessed with the Chronic Oral Mucosal Disease Questionnaire-26 (COMDQ-26).

    The Chronic Oral Mucosal Disease Questionnaire-26 (COMDQ-26) is a 26-item validated survey specific to assess changes in quality of life in patients with Oral Lichen Planus. The total score of the COMDQ-26 ranges from 0-104 with higher scores indicating worse quality of life. The number of participants that achieve at least a 9 point reduction in their scores from baseline will be reported.

    Time frame: Baseline, 24 weeks

Other outcomes

  1. Estimated response to 24 weeks of treatment with 4mg of baricitinib daily using the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA).

    The Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) represents the study doctor's overall assessment of the extent of disease. It assesses changes in symptomatic Oral Lichen Planus and it is meant to be a well-defined and reliable tool to measure disease severity in clinical studies. This tool assigns a score of 0-4 depending on how severe the disease is, with higher scores meaning worse disease. Overall change from baseline to week 24 reported.

    Time frame: Baseline, 24 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • UNC Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Escudier M, Ahmed N, Shirlaw P, Setterfield J, Tappuni A, Black MM, Challacombe SJ. A scoring system for mucosal disease severity with special reference to oral lichen planus. Br J Dermatol. 2007 Oct;157(4):765-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08106.x. Epub 2007 Aug 17. PubMed 17711534 ↗
  • Wiriyakijja P, Porter S, Fedele S, Hodgson T, McMillan R, Shephard M, Ni Riordain R. Meaningful improvement thresholds in measures of pain and quality of life in oral lichen planus. Oral Dis. 2020 Oct;26(7):1464-1473. doi: 10.1111/odi.13379. Epub 2020 May 26. PubMed 32363637 ↗
  • Damsky W, Wang A, Olamiju B, Peterson D, Galan A, King B. Treatment of severe lichen planus with the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020 Jun;145(6):1708-1710.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.031. Epub 2020 Feb 1. No abstract available. PubMed 32018031 ↗
  • Shao S, Tsoi LC, Sarkar MK, Xing X, Xue K, Uppala R, Berthier CC, Zeng C, Patrick M, Billi AC, Fullmer J, Beamer MA, Perez-White B, Getsios S, Schuler A, Voorhees JJ, Choi S, Harms P, Kahlenberg JM, Gudjonsson JE. IFN-gamma enhances cell-mediated cytotoxicity against keratinocytes via JAK2/STAT1 in lichen planus. Sci Transl Med. 2019 Sep 25;11(511):eaav7561. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aav7561. PubMed 31554739 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Deidentified individual data that supports the results will be shared beginning 9 to 36 months following publication provided the investigator who proposes to use the data has approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB), Independent Ethics Committee (IEC), or Research Ethics Board (REB), as applicable, and executes a data use/sharing agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan

Time frame: Beginning 9 and continuing for 36 months after publication.

Access criteria: Data will be made available to investigators who have approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB), Independent Ethics Committee (IEC), or Research Ethics Board (REB), as applicable, and executes a data use/sharing agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Status
Active, not recruiting→Completed
changed Oct 30, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 30, 2026
    Active, not recruiting→Completed
    + 2 other changes: verification date and date precision

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06158113
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 6, 2023
Start date
Mar 13, 2024
Primary completion
Aug 12, 2026
Completion
Sep 9, 2026
Last update
Oct 30, 2026

Study contacts

Donna Culton, MD, PhD
principal investigator · University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Studies of the drug tested here: Baricitinib

Start the discussion