Bowen’s disease

Bowen’s dise­a­se is an ear­ly form of non-mela­n­o­ma skin can­cer in which the can­cer cells are still con­fi­ned to the outer lay­er of skin. Medi­cal­ly, it is a squa­mous cell car­ci­no­ma in situ. Left unt­rea­ted, it can grow deeper and pro­gress to inva­si­ve squa­mous cell car­ci­no­ma.

Cau­ses

The main cau­se is long-term UV expo­sure. Other risk fac­tors include a wea­k­en­ed immu­ne sys­tem, past expo­sure to arse­nic and cer­tain human papil­lo­ma­vi­ru­s­es, par­ti­cu­lar­ly in the geni­tal area. Peo­p­le with fair skin and older adults are affec­ted more often.

Sym­ptoms

A typi­cal sign is a slow­ly gro­wing, well-defi­ned, red­dish, sca­ly patch, often on the lower legs, head or hands. It rare­ly itches or hurts and is the­r­e­fo­re easi­ly mista­ken for ecze­ma or pso­ria­sis. A bio­psy con­firms the diagnosis.

Tre­at­ment

Opti­ons include sur­gi­cal rem­oval, phot­ody­na­mic the­ra­py, free­zing, laser or creams con­tai­ning imi­qui­mod or 5‑fluorouracil. The choice depends on the size and loca­ti­on of the lesi­on and on how well the skin heals, for ins­tance on the lower leg. Regu­lar skin checks are advi­sa­ble after treatment.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Pre­can­ce­rous Skin Lesi­on Treatment