Dermatology · UKMLA & AKT
Bowen's disease
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test, covering how to recognise this condition. The full SA Note notes add investigations, management and complications, with practice questions on this topic.
Key high-yield points
- Bowen's disease = squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ - full-thickness epidermal keratinocyte dysplasia with an intact basement membrane (no invasion, no metastatic potential)
- More common in women; peak incidence 6th-7th decade; lower leg is most frequent site
- Causes: chronic UV exposure (dominant), high-risk HPV (16, 18) in anogenital disease, arsenic exposure (multiple lesions on non-sun-exposed sites), chronic immunosuppression (organ transplant recipients)
Bowen's disease has NO association with internal malignancy - this is a refuted historical myth. Elevated risk of future skin cancers reflects shared UV aetiology only.
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