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Topical treatment of Bowen's disease with 5-Fluorouracil
Howard Bargman1, Jacqueline Hochman
1Division of Dermatology, Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. hbargman@globalserve.net
Background:
Bowen's disease is a common skin cancer. There are many different therapeutic approaches to treatment. Topical 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) cream has been used for many years and there are many published papers attesting to its effectiveness. However, no papers have presented long-term followup results with biopsy confirmation of cure.
Objectives:
The purpose of this article is to present the long-term findings following the use of this cream in the treatment of Bowen's disease.
Methods:
Twenty-four patients with 26 biopsy-confirmed lesions of Bowen's disease were treated with topical 5-Fluorouracil cream and were followed for periods of up to 10 years. Posttreatment biopsies were performed in most cases.
Results:
Two of the 26 lesions treated topically recurred at some point. The rest were apparently cured.
Conclusion:
The results presented in this article confirm that treatment of Bowen's disease with topical 5-Fluorouracil cream is safe and effective treatment.