QUESTION: Can you please tell me what connection there is between Paget's Disease and breast cancer? I know of Paget's as a bone disease, for which my husband is now taking medication.
However we have reports of an aunt with the same problem, and they are considering breast surgery.
We are totally confused and hope you can clear this one up for us.
ANSWER: The connection is Sir James Paget, a British surgeon who lived from 1814 to 1899, and who wrote on a number of medical subjects including an eczema of the breast nipple (Paget's I) and a bone growth problem called osteitis deformans (Paget's II).
In describing the breast rash, Paget wrote an article in 1874 for the St.
Bartholomew Hospital Reporter, a publication of the hospital with which he was associated for his entire life, and correctly noted that this skin lesion was almost invariably associated with an underlying mammary cancer.
It was a remarkable clinical observation by this exceptionally alert surgeon/pathologist.
The rash is an oozing, scaly red plaque with sharply marked edges.
It can provoke a burning sensation, itchiness, or be sore and tender.
However a biopsy examination reveals the typical Paget cells that may have entered into the skin from the cancer below. It is almost always seen in women between the ages of 50 and 60, but another form called Extramammary Paget's disease can be seen in men as well.
Another form has also been described on the penis as well as the vulva.
The condition is slowly progressive, and so surgery is advised for all cases where the biopsy has been performed and diagnosed as positive for cancer cells.
The extent of the surgery depends upon the size and location of the tumor, and the condition is treated as any other breast cancer.
Here is another case where the patient must remain alert and seek help at once.
The early discovery of the condition and the prompt and appropriate treatment gives the patient the best chances of a complete recovery, and since this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I found your question most interesting and an appropriate one to answer at once.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
