Paget's disease of the breast is a rare condition that is associated with breast cancer.
Paget's disease causes eczema like changes to the skin of your nipple and the area of darker skin that surrounds the nipple or areola.
The condition Paget's disease is most often a sign of breast cancer in the tissue behind the nipple of the breast.
The symptoms of Paget's disease of the breast include crusty, oozing or hardened skin resembling eczema on the nipple, areola or both as well as itching redness and a tingling or burning sensation.
Paget's disease of the breast usually affects people older than 60 years, and the most common treatment for Paget's disease is complete mastectomy.
The 5-year overall survival rate of patients with Paget's disease of the breast is greater than 80% but is lower among older and black people.
Paget's disease is a sign that there might be breast cancer in the tissues behind the nipple.
It is possible for someone to have Paget's of the breast with no underlying cancer, but this is less common.
About half of the people diagnosed with Paget's disease of the breast have a lump behind the nipple.
Paget's disease of the breast is an uncommon type of breast cancer that usually first shows as changes to the nipple.
It occurs in less than 5% of all women with breast cancer. Men can also get Paget's disease but this is very rare.
Paget's can be more difficult to detect than other forms of breast cancer because it often shows up on the skin first, and those changes may not be picked up on a standard mammogram screening or even an ultrasound.
There are various conditions that can mimic Paget's disease, such as atopic dermatitis, nipple eczema, psoriasis, nipple adenoma, or contact dermatitis.
Paget disease can be treated by removing the entire breast (mastectomy) or breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by whole-breast radiation therapy.
If BCS is done, the entire nipple and areola area also needs to be removed.
If invasive cancer is found, the lymph nodes under the arm will be checked for cancer.