Are warts cancerous left untreated??

[pruella]

I have a friend that has what appears to be a severe wart condition on his hands.  The topic has never been addressed, but I am very concerned about him because I know he will not see a doctor and he seems to have just adapted to having warts instead of treating them.  

The warts have totally taken over one thumb where it is one large continious bumpy appearance on the inside of the thumb, and I notice he always holds the thumb in so that it is not present to most people.  In turn he has warts on the palm of his hand where he always holds his thumb in.   He also has a large wart on the back of his hand as well as on the side of a finger where he always wear a bandaid, probably to protect the other finger from getting a wart or because he thinks he's hiding it.  

I'm concerned because these are obviously so large and spreading and having his thumb consumed with it makes me wonder if it's cancerous.   I feel if no one else is going to say something to him about his health and he seems undisturbed by what may come of it, that perhaps I should say something if I knew what to tell him.   Cancer is nothing to sit back and wait for it to take over.  

Thanks for your help.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Pruella:

Warts are annoying, but they are not cancerous or precancerous.  Given your description, your friend is probably smart to wait things out, because treatment is often painful and not very effective, although a trial or two of liquid nitrogen freezing might be worth a try.  In time the warts will take care of themselves.  Not to worry.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[Sizally]

A related discussion, Cancerous Warts was started.