Is the Borbus Bowen already cancer?

Bowen’s disease is a precancerous stage of cancer, which is also known as precancerosis in medical terminology. It is therefore not – yet – an invasive cancer. However, Bowen’s disease can develop into cancer if it is not treated early.

This is then referred to as Bowen’s carcinoma. The transition between Bowen’s disease and Bowen’s carcinoma is located at the basement membrane, which separates the upper layers of skin (epidermis) from the underlying tissue. If this basement membrane is breached by the cancer cells, the disease is called cancer.

Metastases are metastases of a cancerous disease into other organs or lymph nodes. For a cancer disease to form metastases, it needs to connect to lymphatic or blood vessels. From there, the cancer cells can reach other organs or lymph nodes and form metastases.

This is not the case with Bowen’s disease, as it does not have any connection to these vessels. The still intact basal membrane of the upper skin layers prevents it from doing so. Metastases can only develop once this membrane has been breached. This is known as Bowen’s carcinoma and not as Bowen’s disease.

Therapy of Bowen’s disease

Bowen’s disease should be treated in any case, as failure to treat it can lead to cancer. Early treatment is therefore very important. There are various treatment options available for Bowen’s disease: It is important to have regular follow-up care from your dermatologist, as Bowen’s disease can recur even after a successful therapy.

This is known as recurrence. This topic might also be of interest to you: How skin cancer is treated

Surgical excision (removal) of the skin changes With sufficient safety distance to the healthy skin, this small procedure is usually performed on an outpatient basis. The removed skin material is examined under a microscope after the operation to make sure that all altered cells have been removed.
Non-operative procedures Very large and extensive skin lesions cannot always be surgically removed.
In this case, tumor destroying creams (Imiquimod, 5-fluoruracil etc.) can be applied. Radiotherapy or icing is also possible. A combination of several procedures may also be necessary and useful. This must always be decided individually.