Bowen’s disease is a type of slow-growing and scaly skin patch. It can easily be mistaken for psoriasis. Many doctors believe that Bowen’s disease is a type of skin cancer, while others consider it to be a pre-cancerous condition. The patches do not usually develop into skin cancer. Bowen’s disease can occur on any part of the body but the lower legs are the most commonly affected area. Women are more prone to Bowen’s disease than men and age seems to be a factor as most cases occur in people over 40 years.

Causes

The main cause of Bowen’s disease is unknown, but some the risk factors include:

The disease is more common in women.

Bowen’s diseaseis more common in people over 40 years.

Sun exposuremay also cause this disease.

People who are exposed to arsenic have increased risk of getting Bowen’s disease.

Human papilloma virus infection– the research is not entirely clear, but this virus may play a role in the development of Bowen’s disease as well.

Symptoms

The main symptoms that can be noticed on a person suffering from Bowen’s disease are as follows:

Flat, scaly, red and slightly raised red patches appear on the skin.

A single patch or a number of patches can be seen.

The edges of each patch are irregular but distinct from the surrounding skin.

The patch or patches grow very slowly.

The patches can affect any area of the body, but commonly can be seen on the lower leg.

The patches can be sore, irritated or may even lead to bleeding.

Treatment

The various treatments to cure Bowen’s disease are as follows:

Cryosurgery in which the lesion is destroyed with intense cold. This type of treatment has a moderate success rate of curing the disease.

Curettage is a treatment where the lesion is scraped off the skin. It may also be used with cauterisation, where the skin is lightly burnt with electric current.

Photodynamic therapy is a special type of light that is used to destroy the lesion.

Surgery can be done in which the lesion is cut out and the wound sutured closed. This treatment has a 100 per cent success rate, but may lead to significant scarring.