Multifocal Extramammary Paget's Disease

Pigmented extramammary Paget's disease of the axilla mimicking melanoma: case report and review of the literature

Pigmented Paget's disease is a rare variant that is often confused clinically and histologically with melanoma in situ. Herein, we describe a case of pigmented extramammary Paget's disease involving the axilla of a 79-year-old white male thought initially to represent malignant melanoma clinically and histologically. Review of the literature reveals that pigmented variant of Paget's disease, either mammary or extramammary, could be initially misdiagnosed as melanoma unless this entity is considered in the differential diagnosis, and additional confirmatory studies are performed.

Extramammary Paget’s Disease in Chinese Males: A 21-year Experience

BACKGROUND

Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare disease in Chinese males. Our objectives were to examine the results of our experience, to correlate them with the published literature, and thus to formulate improved management guidelines.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis of all male patients with EMPD treated at our institution. We reviewed the patients and their case notes for data such as presenting symptoms, delay to diagnosis, incidence of concurrent malignancies, treatments given, and a variety of outcome measures, including the number of patients with recurrent or residual disease.

RESULTS

The overall recurrence rate was 35%. The risk of recurrence was reduced if intraoperative frozen section analysis was used (25%) compared to simple wide local excision (60%). Wide local excision failed to excise the disease completely in 38%. There were no associated internal malignancies and no disease-related deaths in our sample.

CONCLUSIONS

We recommend intraoperative frozen sections to reduce the risk of incomplete resection and to reduce the rate of recurrence. In our population, screening for internal malignancies can be restricted to select patients, e.g., those with perianal disease, those with invasive disease, and young patients.

Surgical treatment of extramammary Paget's disease. A report of six cases and a reexamination of Mohs micrographic surgery compared with conventional surgical excision

Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare cutaneous malignancy, usually on the genitalia, that almost always extends beyond clinically apparent margins. Recurrences after standard methods of surgical excision are notoriously frequent; effective treatment with Mohs micrographic surgery was first reported in 1979. It has since been suggested this malignancy may be multifocal, and reports of recurrences after resection with micrographic surgery have appeared. The authors report six cases treated with Mohs surgery, two of which recurred. They also present data on 42 additional cases obtained from a written survey of members of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and comparison cases selected from the literature. The recurrence rate after micrographic surgery appears to be at least as low as that after conventional surgical excision with vertical frozen section or paraffin section margin control. Mohs micrographic surgery allows for maximal tissue sparing of critical anatomic structures and is performed under local anesthesia as an outpatient; because of this, it may be superior to conventional surgical excision. A scheme for management of this malignancy is presented. Surgeons should be aware radical excision is not needed for most cases of extramammary Paget's disease and very long-term patient follow-up is required.

Extramammary Paget's disease: an annotated review

The incidence, clinical features, histogenesis, and treatment of extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) are reviewed. This unusual skin lesion is associated with an underlying adnexal neoplasm in about 50% of cases. Also, the incidence of distant organ malignancies of EMPD is higher than expected by chance. Even in the absence of a recognizable underlying cancer, EMPD may occasionally produce distant metastases, indicating the malignant potential of this condition. Histochemical, immunohistological, and lectin binding studies demonstrate that the cell of origin of EMPD is the exocrine cell of sweat glands. Although EMPD may arise from eccrine cells, derivation from apocrine cells appears more common. The treatment of the primary lesion, by wide margin excision, is fraught by a high recurrence rate. Chemosurgery may reduce local relapse of EMPD. The value of adjuvant radiation therapy is unestablished. Chemotherapy has induced remission in 2 cases of advanced EMPD and needs testing in clinical trials.