Bowen's disease is an intraepidermal carcinoma that occurs most commonly in white men. The average age at diagnosis is 55 years. The lesion is often solitary, and appears grossly as a discrete, red, and slightly scaling plaque, which gradually enlarges in a somewhat irregular pattern. We describe herein a patient who was initially seen with Bowen's disease, in which a lesion, apparently present since early childhood, resembled a malignant melanoma.
Report of a Case
A 63-year-old white man entered the Veterans Administration screening clinic in Columbus, Ohio, with a long history of emphysema and was subsequently referred to the dermatology clinic for evaluation of a large "mole" on his neck. By history, the lesion had been present in childhood, and the patient's family had called it a birthmark. It had cause the patient no discomfort, but during the year prior to examination he had noted an irregular enlargement. Examination disclosed