Bowen's Disease vs Cutaneous Lymphoma
How to tell the difference — key features compared side by side.
Feature
Bowen's Disease
Cutaneous Lymphoma
Category
Pre-cancerous
Malignant
Key feature
Early-stage SCC confined to the top skin layer. A persistent, well-defined red scaly patch - 3-5% progress to invasive cancer.
Cancer of immune cells affecting the skin. Early stages look like eczema or psoriasis, making diagnosis difficult.
Risk factors
Chronic sun exposure; Fair skin; Age over 60
Age 50-60 (most common at diagnosis); Male sex (2:1 male-to-female ratio); No clearly established environmental risk factors
Action needed
A persistent red scaly patch not responding to eczema or fungal treatments
Persistent flat, scaly patches that do not respond to eczema or psoriasis treatment
Bowen's Disease
Bowen's disease is squamous cell carcinoma in situ - malignant cells present but not yet invaded beyond the epidermis. It represents the stage between actinic keratosis and invasive SCC.
Read full guide →Cutaneous Lymphoma
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a group of cancers that originate in T-lymphocytes (immune cells) and primarily affect the skin. The most common form is mycosis fungoides, which accounts for about half of all cutaneous lymphomas.
Read full guide →Does yours look more like bowen's disease?
Quick self-check
Does this look like bowen's disease? Answer 2 questions.
Is it a single, well-defined scaly patch (not multiple)?
Has it persisted despite treatment attempts?
Still not sure?
Our full ABCDE checker evaluates 5 clinical criteria dermatologists use.
Full ABCDE check →