Iris Zalaudek,(1) MD; Giuseppe Argenziano,(6) MD; Bernd Leinweber,(1) MD; Luigi Citarella,(2) MD; Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof,(1) MD; Josep Malvehy,(3) MD; Susana Puig,(3) MD; Maria Antonietta Pizzichetta,(4) MD; Luc Thomas,(5) MD; H. Peter Soyer,(1) MD; H. Kerl,(1) MD

(1) Department of Dermatology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
(2) Department of Dermatology University Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
(3) Department of Dermatology, Melanoma Unit, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
(4) Division of Preventive Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano, Italy
(5) Dermatology Unit, Hotel Dieu de Lyon, Lyon, France
(6) Department of Dermatology, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy

Comment

Dermoscopy improves the diagnostic accuracy in pigmented skin lesions, but it is also useful in the evaluation of non-pigmented skin tumors since it allows the recognition of vascular structures that are not visible to the naked eye. Bowen´s disease (BD) or squamous cell carcinoma in situ is usually non-pigmented, but may be rarely pigmented as well.

In a dermoscopy study of 21 histopathologically proven, pigmented and non-pigmented BD, the majority of cases revealed a peculiar dermoscopic pattern characterized by glomerular vessels (90.5%) and a scaly surface (90.5%). In the cases of pigmented BD, small brown globules regularly packed in a patchy distribution (90%), and structureless gray to brown pigmentation (80%) were additionally observed.

Legends

	Figure 1: Clinical view of a non-pigmented Bowen’s disease located on the right leg of a 76-year-old woman.
	Figure 2: Dermoscopic examination of a non-pigmented Bowen’s disease reveals numerous glomerular vessels, distributed in a cluster on the left side of the lesion, and scale-crusts in the center and on the right side. (Original magnification x10).
Last Modified 2005-07-15 10:46 +0200