Treatment of arsenical keratosis and Bowen’s disease with acitretin

Abstract

Although these results need to be confirmed by larger, long-term trials, it appears that acitretin is effective in the treatment of Bowen's disease related with arsenic, as well as arsenical keratosis.

BritishAssociation ofDermatologists' guidelines for the management of squamous cell carcinomain situ(Bowen's disease) 2014

“…111 Oral acitretin was used to treat arsenical keratoses and SCC in situ in two patients, with near-total clearing in one patient at 1 mg kg À1 dose for 10 months, but retinoid-related side-effects led to discontinuation of therapy in the other patient after 5 months. 112 Treatment of SCC in situ using an ultrasonic surgical aspirator cleared 20 SCCs in situ with no recurrences over a mean period of 20 months. 113 The treatment field included about 1 cm of normal skin, and the treatment required local anaesthesia.…”

Possibilities of some methods for risk assessment of arsenic load in soils

“…An increased level of As concentration in human organism can cause carcinogenic and teratogenic symptoms. Weis and Weis (1991), Abedin et al (2002), Urminská et al (2002), Yerebakan et al (2002) or Saha (2003) document and discuss it in a more detailed way.…”

Therapeutic options for Bowen’s disease

“…In contrast, the second patient did not tolerate the treatment and no improvement was seen. 102 Local hyperthermia delivered by disposable chemical pocket warmers, 103 an ultrasonic surgical aspirator, 104 topical dinitrochlorobenzene, 49 intralesional bleomycin, 105 and topical bleomycin combined with liquid nitrogen 17 have also been reported.…”