Giant Condyloma Acuminatum - Buschke-Lowenstein Disease - a Literature Review
D. Spinu, A. Rădulescu, O. Bratu, I.A. Checheriţă, A.E. Ranetti, D. MischianuGeneral reports, no. 4, 2014
Aim: Buschke-Lowenstein disease or giant condyloma acuminatum
represents a rare, sexually transmitted disorder, with a slow
evolution and the tendency to infiltrate in the adjacent tissues;
untreated, the outcome is unfavorable. The hallmark is the
development of one or various prominent-sized vegetant tumors
that usually ulcerate.
Material and Methods: The present article summarizes both
the etiopathogenic features and the current approach of
treatment management.
Results: Minimally invasive surgery along with local and
systemic therapy is adequate in patients with small-sized
lesions or high intraoperative risk. The main treatment
remains extensive surgery with wide resection and often
reinterventions to complete the excision.
Conclusions: giant condyloma acuminatum represents a continuous
surgical challenge, because of the need of exhaustive
surgical procedures that should consider both the oncological
principles and a better anatomical resolution. No standard
treatment protocol can be established, because of the
infrequency of the disease. Radical surgery including full
thickness excision of the affected areas represents the "goldstandard"
therapy. Other known forms of treatment present
unsatisfactory results without statistical significance, the
studies having been conducted on small groups of patients. An
adequate, long-term follow-up of Buschke-Lowenstein patients is
highly recommended, because of the increased recurrence rate.