Bowenoid Papulosis

Excerpt

Bowenoid papulosis (BP) is an uncommon sexually transmitted condition (see Image. Bowenoid Papulosis.) It was first described in 1977 by Kopf and Bart as penile papules. However, it occurs at both sexes. It tends to affect young sexually active people. This condition was also termed “vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN)” in the vulva and termed penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) in the penis. The classification of this disease was confusing and including three clinical entities: BP, Bowen’s disease, and erythroplasia of Queyrat. Now it is recommended that these three entities not be used to describe lesions in the anogenital area. But, dermatologists still recognize BP as a distinct clinical variant. In fact, BP is induced virally by human papillomavirus (HPV) and presents as solitary or multiple skin-colored papules in the anogenital area. It can last from two weeks to several years. Clinically BP is assimilated to genital warts while histologically it has a close resemblance to squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen’s disease). Treatment is generally conservative. BP lesions are generally considered benign with a spontaneous regress leaving no sequelae in immunocompetent persons, although a small number may transform into invasive squamous cell carcinoma.