Paget’s disease of the nipple

introduction

Paget's disease of the nipple, also known asPaget's disease of the breast, is a rare condition associated with breast cancer .

It causes eczema-like changes to the skin of the nipple and the area of darker skin surrounding the nipple (areola). It's usually a sign of Breast cancer in the tissue behind the nipple. About 1-4% of women with breast cancer have Paget's disease of the nipple.

The term Paget's disease of the nipple is used to distinguish the condition from Paget's disease of the bone (where bones become weak and deformed).

This page covers:

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Treatment

Reducing risk

Symptoms of Paget's disease of the nipple

Paget's disease of the nipple always starts in the nipple and may extend to the areola. Itappears as a red, scalyrash on the skin of thenipple and areola.

The affected skin is often sore and inflamed, and it can be itchy or cause a burning sensation. The nipple can sometimes be ulcerated.

The rash is often similar in appearance to other skin conditions, such as eczema or psoriasis . If you scratch it, or if it's left untreated, it can bleed, become ulcerated or scab over.

If you're experiencing itchiness, burning or bleeding but the nipple looks normal and isn't red or scaly, it isn't Paget's diseaseof the nipple. However, you should still have it checked by a doctor.

Around half of all women diagnosed with Paget's disease of the nipple have alump behind the nipple. In 9 out of 10 cases this is an invasive breast cancer.

Invasive cancer is where cancerous cells invade the surrounding breast tissue.Some women with Paget's disease have invasive breast cancer but don't have a lump.

However, most women with Paget's disease who don't have a lump have non-invasive cancer. This is where the cancerous cells are contained in one or more areas of the breast and have not spread.

Causes of Paget's disease of the nipple

Thecause of Paget's disease of the nipple is unknown. Some women appear to be more at risk of developing breast cancer, but not specifically Paget's disease. There are no known causes that lead to a specific type of breast cancer.

In terms of risk factors, you're more likely to developbreast cancer if you:

are older the risk of developing breast cancer increaseswith age
have close relatives with breast cancer
havehad breast cancer before
have had a special type of benign (non-cancerous) breast disease before certain types of benign breast disease may be associated with anincreased risk of breast cancer, but this is only seen in a very small number of women
are overweight particularly if you've been through the menopause (you can use the BMI healthy weight calculator to find out whether you're overweight or obese)
drink a lot of alcohol your risk can increase with the amount of alcohol you drink

Although most breast lumps aren't cancerous, it's important to have them checked out.

A biopsy is used to confirm a suspected diagnosis of Paget's disease of the nipple.A small tissue sample (punch biopsy of the skin) will be taken from your nipple and examined under a microscope to see if it's cancerous.

If the results of the biopsy indicate Paget's disease, you'll have a mammogram (a low-dose breast X-ray ) to investigate further.

Depending on whether the cancer has spread, surgery will either involve removing the whole breast (a mastectomy ), or the nipple and areola with the breast tissue underneath them(a central excision).

If the whole of your breast is removed, breast reconstruction surgery can be used to create a breast shape to match your remaining breast.

You may also need further treatment if you have invasive breast cancer. This may be a combination of:

chemotherapy where powerful medication is used to destroy cancerous cells
radiotherapy where controlled doses of high-energy radiation are used to destroy cancerous cells
biological or hormone therapy which lowers the risk of cancer returning in the same breast (and affecting the other breast), and it lowers the risk of cancerous cells spreading elsewhere in the body

If Paget's disease is detected and treated in its early stages, there's a good chance of a full recovery.

In the UK, the NHS Breast Screening Programme provides free breast screening every three years for all women aged 50-70.

In some areas, women aged 47-49 and 71-73 are also invited for screening as part of a study looking at whether the age range for breast screening should be extended.