Bowen’s disease is a skin cancer that particularly affects women. It is a rare form of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ which rarely progresses to invasive cancer. Symptoms, causes of appearance, treatment and cure.
Definition: What is Bowen’s disease?
Bowen’s disease is cancer in situ, i.e. non invasive. She touches skin and mucous membranes. Lesions can be single or multiple. It mainly affects people over 60 years oldmore often the women. It rarely progresses to invasive skin cancer.
Nails, vulva, face: where are the lesions located in Bowen’s disease?
“These tumors most often appear on the areas most exposed to UV rays: face, neck, torso, legs, forearms…, explains Dr. Marie-Estelle Roux, dermatologist. But lesions can also develop in the nails and/or genitalia (woman’s vulva and man’s glans)”.
Bowen’s disease is manifested by lesions on the surface of the skin (epidermal carcinomas). They form thick, scaly patches, with irregular contours and a red-brown very strong. They peel also generally. These lesions resemble those that can be observed duringeczema and psoriasis. They are not accompanied by any other clinical sign.
What is the cause of Bowen’s disease?
“This disease is most often caused by exposure to UV rays and when it develops on the genitals and fingers, it is often caused by certain oncogenic papillomaviruses”, explains Dr. Roux.
As soon as these lesions appear, contact a dermatologist because the sooner they are taken care of, the less risk there will be of seeing them develop into invasive cancer. After a thorough clinical examination, if the practitioner suspects a non-invasive cancerous lesion, he will recommend the realization of a biopsy. “This examination consists of taking a sample under local anesthesia a small piece of tissue (skin) at the level of the lesion in order to be able to analyze it, explains Dr. Roux.
Treatment is to remove the tumors as soon as possible. For this, different techniques can be used:
- L’surgical removal
- The chemotherapy topical by use of ointment
- The cryotherapyin some cases if the lesion is limited.
What are the chances of recovery?
People with Bowen’s disease have an excellent prognosis because the disease is classically slow to grow and responds favorably to treatment. “The lesions often grow slowly and although they are not life-threatening, there is a small risk of progression to skin cancer (estimated at 3%) called invasive squamous cell carcinoma“, says Dr. Roux.
Thanks to Dr. Marie-Estelle Roux, dermatologist.