INTRAEPITHELIAL CARCINOMA AND INVASIVE-CA RCINOMA OF THE SCLERO-CORNEAL LIMBUS - A CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL-STUDY OF 20 CASES

We report a retrospective multicentric study of 20 cases of sclero-cor neal limbus tumours carcinome including 9 cases of Bowen's disease and II squamous cell carcinomas. These cases were observed over two 10 an d 20-year periods in two pathology departments. Epidemiological, clini cal, pathological and therapeutic data as well as the clinical course were studied and the results compared with a large review of the liter ature. The mean age of the patients was 38 years for Bowen's disease a nd 47 for carcinoma. Two young subjects, 5 and 22 years, had xeroderma pigmentosum and had Bowen's disease and art epidermoid microinvasive carcinoma, respectively. All of the patients with Bowen's disease were men and were more than 90 % of the patients with carcinoma. Tumour si ze was greater in carcinomas (7 to 10 mm) than in Bowen's disease (1 t o 5 mm). All tumours were unilateral. Clinical manifestations included irritative or inflamatory reactions in one-fourth of the patients wit h Bowen's disease and in one-third of those with carcinoma. Pathology examination revealed an intact basal membrane separating healthy tissu e from Bowen's lesions which showed disrupted cell architecture mostly involving the medial layers of the epithelium in 37 % of the cases. A ll of the lesions were treated by exeresis. No recurrence has been obs erved after a follow-tip of 1 month to 2 years for Bowen's disease and 1 year (maximum) for squamous cell carcinomas.