| Summary: | Background: Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated disease that more frequently affects the skin and oral mucosa. Various treatment modalities are available for the condition. The aim of this review is to provide clinicians with consolidated evidence of the various treatments of cutaneous lichen planus (CLP). This first part focuses on topical therapies and phototherapy. Methods: Various Databases were searched for all studies up until January 2018, which reported on topical therapies and phototherapy for CLP. There were no exclusions based on study design. Results: We identified four systemic reviews and four reviews. We found additional single studies that contributed to this review. Evidence supporting the use of topical corticosteroids, as a first-line therapy, is absent. Conclusion: Narrowband UVB is the preferred phototherapeutic treatment option for cutaneous lichen planus and should be considered before commencing systemic treatment. Topical calcineurin inhibitors show promising results despite evidence only available from case reports. Vitamin D3 is not recommended for the treatment of cutaneous lichen planus due to poor patient outcomes. The second part of this review will investigate the efficacy of systemic treatments for cutaneous lichen planus in the current literature.
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