Bovenoid papulosis is a rare sexually transmitted disease and presumably caused by human papillomavirus type 16. The pathology is characterized by the appearance of local lesions on the genitals of women and men. Neoplasms may have a reddish-brown or purple hue. As a rule, they reach small sizes, rise above the skin and in some cases feel velvety to the touch.
Signs and symptoms
Lesias caused by this rare disease may go away on their own in a couple of weeks, but postponing a visit to the doctor is strongly discouraged. There are cases when neoplasms did not descend for several years. Bowenoid papulosis in women can be localized inside the vagina, on the clitoris, on the large and small labia, in the anus. In men, lesions are found on the head, foreskin and body of the penis, as well as in the anus. Neoplasmsusually smooth, sometimes velvety; in women, they have a darker color.
Most patients with this diagnosis suffer simultaneously from other viral infections that preceded the development of bowenoid papulosis. Typical examples are herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus and HIV. When examined under a microscope, the structure of the neoplasms looks like tissue from preinvasive squamous cell carcinoma (a type of cancer cell). In some cases, bowenoid papulosis degenerates into an oncological disease.
Reasons
This pathology is a sexually transmitted disease and is believed to be caused by human papillomavirus type 16. The presence of other viral infections, coupled with a weakened immune system, may increase the risk of contracting this sexually transmitted disease.
The average patient
The disease affects men (mean age 30) and women (mean age 32) who are sexually active. In the medical literature, one can find examples of diagnosing pathology in people from 3 to 80 years old. Currently, the infection is gradually spreading, covering all continents and countries of the world.
How to identify the disease
A professional physician with extensive experience is able to diagnose bowenoid papulosis by its typical clinical presentation. Procedures such as dermoscopy and skin biopsy help confirm the initial diagnosis. A biopsy is also ordered to look for squamous cell carcinoma.
Differential Diagnosis
Symptoms of the following diseases may be similar to those of bowenoid papulosis. Consider comparative characteristics to distinguish one pathology from another.
- Bowen's disease (lenticular discoid dyskeratosis) is a precancerous, slow-growing skin malignancy. The main symptom is a brown-red, scaly or dry crusty area on the skin that resembles psoriasis or dermatitis in appearance. Unlike such a disorder as bowenoid papulosis, Bowen's disease manifests itself on any part of the body, on the skin or on the mucous membranes.
- Condyloma is a common infectious sexually transmitted disease caused by the human papillomavirus and affecting the body through direct sexual contact. Warts characteristic of this infection protrude above the skin, reach a small size, have a red or pink color. To the touch, such formations are soft and moist. They can appear both on the skin and on the mucous membranes of the genital organs, oral cavity, anus or rectum. Most often, warts form bundles.
- Lichen planus (Wilson's lichen) is a relapsing, itchy inflammation of the skin in which small, independent angular patches appear that can join each other to form large areas with a rough, scaly surface. While bowenoid papulosis occurs equally in men and womenoften, red lichen in most cases affects the fairer sex. Lesions are commonly found on the folds of the wrists and legs, as well as on the torso, tonsils, penis, and mucous membranes of the mouth and vagina.
Standard therapy
If you suspect you have bowenoid papulosis (photos of typical lesions can be found on medical forums), you should see a doctor as soon as possible for professional differential diagnosis and long-term monitoring. As a rule, specialists first carefully monitor the patient's condition. Sometimes the disease goes away suddenly, by itself, and does not require the appointment of therapy. Sexual activity should be kept to a minimum to avoid transmission of the infection to others during the contagious phase of this disease.
If necessary, doctors prescribe electrosurgery, cryosurgery (freezing tissue with liquid nitrogen), and/or laser surgery to remove tumors. Viral warts are treated in the same way.
In relatively mild cases, it is enough to use "5-Fluorouracil" - a chemical that prevents cell division and thereby stops bowenoid papulosis. Reviews about it are both positive and neutral - a lot depends on the degree of development of the infection. The drug is available to ordinary consumers in the form of an ointment.
Electrosurgery
Electrosurgery is used in dermatology to stopbleeding and to destroy abnormal skin growths. During this procedure, high-frequency alternating electric current of various voltages is passed through the skin, generating heat. This requires a power source and a special apparatus with one or more electrodes:
- Electrofulguration (spray coagulation) dries out superficial tissues.
- Electrocoagulation stops bleeding by causing blood to clot in damaged vessels.
- Electrosection involves cutting tissue.
- Thermocoagulation is also called cauterization.
Cryosurgery
No wonder one of the potentially dangerous dermatological diseases is bowenoid papulosis. Treatment often comes down to cryosurgery, or freezing pathological growths on the surface of the skin.
In order to remove the lesions characteristic of dermatological disorders, the following cryogenic substances are used:
- liquid nitrogen (most common method);
- dry ice made from carbon dioxide (a little outdated way);
- dimethyl ether and propane.
Cryosurgery is effective for the following conditions:
- bovenoid papulosis;
- actinic keratosis;
- viral warts;
- seborrheic keratosis.
Professional dermatologists sometimes prescribe freezing of small malignant neoplasms - for example, in Bowen's disease, but this approach is not always positiveresults, and therefore careful monitoring of the patient's condition after the procedure is necessary.
Currently, freezing is the most common way to get rid of various lesions on the surface of the skin. Cryosurgery is relatively cheap, safe and reliable. However, you need to make sure that the diagnosis is correct. Under no circumstances should melanomas or any undiagnosed pigmented neoplasms with the potential to be melanomas be frozen.
