Bowen's Disease

Bowen's disease is a type of skin disorder that is characterized by reddish scaly patches on the skin. Often referred to as a squamous cell carcinoma, it is also believed to be a precancerous state. However, there is no medical evidence suggesting that it develops into skin cancer.

Bowen's disease symptoms

Bowen's disease may affect any part of the body, but it is most commonly observed in the lower legs. Some of the signs that will help you to identify, whether you are suffering from this type of skin condition are:

• A reddish scaly patch, which is elevated in certain regions.
• The edges of the patch/patches are irregular, with a distinct demarcation line.
• Patches in areas mostly exposed to the sun, like the lower legs.
• Spreading of the patch to encompass a larger area.

Bowen's disease risk factors

Women are more susceptible to the disease than men. Usually it occurs after 40 years of age. It is also believed that sun may have a considerable influence in incurring the condition. The risk factors that increase the chances of Bowen's disease are:

• Exposure to arsenic is believed to be one of the factors that can cause the disease.
• Women over the threshold of 40 are more at risk.
• Research has revealed that human papilloma viral infection may lead to the development of this skin condition.
• No concrete evidence, however is available to support the theory.
• Exposure to sunlight is also believed to be one of the factors responsible for incurring the disease.

Bowen's disease treatment

The prognosis of treatment is good, recurrence is observed rarely. Some of the treatment methods employed for treating Bowen's skin condition are:

• Cryosurgery or cold therapy, a sure and successful method for the removal of the skin lesion.
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT), where a special light is used to destroy the diseased lesions.
• Using curettage method the lesion is simply scraped off.
• It can also be removed surgically.

Combination therapy is another method of treatment, here two or more treatment methods are employed for treating the disease.