Bowen’s disease (BD) represents one of the most common form of cutaneous malignancy, race-independent.
BD is a form of intraepidermal (in situ) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) originally described in 1912. Association between BD and viral infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) remains disputed. We present the case of a male patient, 64-year old, smoker who presented to our clinic for an enlarging well-demarcated erythematosus plaque, with an irregular border and surfacing with crusts and scales situated on palmar surface of the right hand for several years. Based on clinical, dermatoscopic and histopathological exams we made the diagnosis of Bowen’s disease. We decided to perform in situ hybridization evidence of oncogenic HPV types by xMAP technology and detected HPV type 16.
Patient was referred to plastic microsurgery where was performed integral excision with oncological margins, followed by a rotation flap to cover the defect on a functional region of the hand. We also present general information from review literature about BD.