Bowen Disease

(See also Overview of Skin Cancer Overview of Skin Cancer Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. Skin cancer is most common among people who work or play sports outside and among sunbathers. Fair-skinned people are particularly susceptible... read more .)

Bowen disease most commonly occurs on sun-exposed areas of the skin but may occur anywhere.

There may be many carcinomas or only a few. The affected skin is red-brown and scaly or crusted and flat, sometimes looking like a patch of psoriasis Psoriasis Psoriasis is a chronic, recurring disease that causes one or more raised, red patches that have silvery scales and a distinct border between the patch and normal skin. A problem with the immune... read more , dermatitis Overview of Dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the upper layers of the skin, causing itching, blisters, redness, swelling, and often oozing, scabbing, and scaling. Known causes include dry skin, contact with... read more , or a fungal infection (called tinea or ringworm Overview of Dermatophytoses (Ringworm, Tinea) Dermatophytoses are fungal infections of the skin and nails caused by several different fungi and classified by the location on the body. Dermatophyte infections are also called ringworm or... read more ).

A biopsy Biopsy Doctors can identify many skin disorders simply by looking at the skin. A full skin examination includes examination of the scalp, nails, and mucous membranes. Sometimes the doctor uses a hand-held... read more is the standard procedure for confirming the diagnosis of Bowen disease. During this procedure, doctors remove a piece of the tumor and examine it under a microscope.

Doctors may remove the cancer in the office by scraping and burning it with an electric needle (a procedure called curettage and electrodesiccation) or by cutting it out. Doctors may destroy the cancer by using extreme cold (cryosurgery), electrocautery, or by applying a chemotherapy drug Chemotherapy Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Although an ideal drug would destroy cancer cells without harming normal cells, most drugs are not that selective. Instead, drugs... read more to the skin).

Because squamous cell carcinomas seem to be related to UV exposure, doctors recommend a number of measures to limit UV exposure, starting in early childhood: