Topical Treatment of Bowen's Disease with 5-Fluorouracil

Abstract

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.