Bowen’s Disease: Prevention

To prevent Bowen disease, attention must be paid to reducing individual risk factors.

Behavioral risk factors

• UV light exposure (sun; solarium).

Environmental pollution – intoxications (poisonings).

• Arsenic
• Sun exposure

Note: Bowen’s disease also occurs in non-light-exposed areas such as the lower legs. There it is manifested by scaly reddish plaques (areal or plate-like substance proliferation of the skin).

Prevention factors (protective factors)

• Behavioral factors
  • Sun protection [S3 guideline: see below].
    • Avoidance of strong sunlight (see also UV index: the UV index (UVI) is a standardized measure of sunburn-effective solar irradiance (ultraviolet radiation).); Staying indoors is better than applying sunscreen!
    • In general, the UV index is considered a measure of the strongest solar radiation around midday (daily maximum).
    • Wearing appropriate clothing is preferable to the use of sunscreen as individual sun protection.
      • Headgear/sun hat, T-shirt (and one shirt over the other), sunglasses.
    • Application of sunscreen
      • “Sunscreens should be used for skin areas that cannot be protected in any other way”.
      • “The use of sunscreens should not lead to prolonging the stay in the sun”.

Secondary prevention

• Early skin cancer detection (skin cancer screening) using dermoscopy (reflected light microscopy; increases diagnostic confidence).