Treatment of vulvar Paget disease with topical imiquimod: a case report and review of the literature

Vulvar Paget’s Disease: A Systematic Review of the MITO Rare Cancer Group

Vulvar Paget’s disease (VPD) is a rare form of cutaneous adenocarcinoma of the vulva, which accounts for about 1–2% of all vulvar neoplasms and mainly affects post-menopausal women. The clinical presentation is usually non-specific and mimics chronic erythematous skin lesions; therefore, the diagnosis is often difficult and delayed. Although VPD is typically diagnosed at a locally advanced stage and has a high recurrence rate, the prognosis is overall favorable with a 5-year survival of nearly 90%. Due to the limited and poor-quality evidence, there is no global consensus on optimal management. Therefore, we performed a systematic review of the literature through the main electronic databases to deepen the current knowledge of this rare disease and discuss the available treatment strategies. Wide surgical excision is recommended as the standard-of-care treatment and should be tailored to the tumor position/extension and the patient’s performance status. The goal is to completely remove the tumor and achieve clear margins, thus reducing the rate of local recurrences. Non-surgical treatments, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and topical approaches, can be considered, especially in the case of unresectable and recurrent disease. In the absence of clear recommendations, the decision-making process should be individualized, also considering the new emerging molecular targets, such as HER2 and PD-L1, which might pave the way for future targeted therapies. The current review aims to raise awareness of this rare disease and encourage international collaboration to collect larger-scale, high-quality evidence and standardize treatment.

Medical and Surgical Strategies in Vulvar Paget Disease: Let's Throw Some Light!

BACKGROUND

Vulvar Paget's disease (VPD) is defined as a neoplasm of epithelial origin, mostly in postmenopausal women. Due to the extreme rarity of VPD, limited data about recommended treatment options are available. Surgical excision has been the treatment of choice although in the recent decade medical treatments have been proposed.

METHODS

A systematic computerized search of the literature was performed in the main electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library), from 2003 to September 2022, in order to analyze all medical and surgical strategies used for the treatment of VPD.

RESULTS

Thirty-four articles were included in this review with findings as follows: 390 patients were treated with medical or other conservative treatment while 2802 patients were treated surgically; 235/434 (54%) patients had a complete response, 67/434 (15%) a partial response, 10/434 (2.3%) a stable disease, 3/434 (0.7%) disease progress, 3/434 (0.7%) died of the disease, 55/434 (13%) died of other causes during follow up while 7/434 (1.6%) had to stop topical treatments with 5% imiquimod cream because of side effects; 239/434 patients (55%) had a recurrence and 11/434 (2.5%) were lost to follow-up. The length of follow-up was variable, according to the different studies analyzed.

CONCLUSION

VPD is a chronic disease with a high recurrence rate and low mortality. There are no significant differences in recurrence rates in patients who undergo surgery and those who do not and the margin status at the time of primary surgery and recurrence. Several surgical and medical approaches providing both local control of the disease and minimal tissue damage have been developed. Clock mapping, a recent preoperative vulvo-vaginal workup tool, can predict the invasiveness and the extension of VPD. However, to date, due to the different treatment options available and in the absence of a global consensus, it is critical to tailor treatments to individual patient characteristics and biopsy histopathologic findings, to ensure the best type of therapy.

Vulval extra-mammary Paget's disease: the master of disguise revealed

Extra-mammary Paget's disease is a rare cancer affecting the anogenital region and can present with a myriad of symptoms. In women, the diagnosis of Paget's disease can be challenging as it mimics several other vulval conditions. It is important to promptly recognise this disease because of its potential association with synchronous tumours, such as colorectal adenocarcinoma. The mainstay of treatment is with immunomodulating therapies or surgery, but unfortunately the risk of recurrence is high and appears to be independent of treatment choice and tissue margin status. There is growing evidence to move away from traditional surgical excision to using topical therapy, such as imiquimod, as surgery can often be extensive and disfiguring with a prolonged recovery time. There is considerable psychosexual and physical morbidity associated with Paget's disease, largely owing to multiple surgical recurrences. As recurrences can occur several years after the initial presentation, long-term follow up of patients is recommended.

Imiquimod - A toll like receptor 7 agonist - Is an ideal option for management of COVID 19

According to numerous recent publications, the COVID-19 patients have lymphopenia, higher infection-related biomarkers and several elevated inflammatory cytokines (i.e. tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin IL-2R and IL-6). The total number of B cells, T cells and NK cells are significantly decreased. RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 included, hit the innate immune system in order to cause infection, through TLRs 3, 7 and 8. Imiquimod is an immune-stimulator that activates TLR 7 and can be used to enhance the innate and adaptive immunity. Preclinical and clinical trials are proposed.

Vulvar Paget disease secondary to high-grade urothelial carcinoma with underlying massive vascular embolization and cervical involvement: case report of unusual presentation

Background

Vulvar extramammary Paget disease is a rare chronic condition, that presents with non-specific symptoms such as pruritus and eczematous lesions. Because most of these lesions are noninvasive, the distinction between primary and secondary Paget disease is crucial to management.

Case presentation

We report an unusual case of vulvar Paget disease associated with massive dermal vascular embolization, cervicovaginal involvement and metastasis to inguinal and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The intraepithelial vulvar lesion had a classical appearance and was accompanied by extensive component of dermal lymphovascular tumor emboli, similar to those observed in inflammatory breast carcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the lesion was secondary to high-grade urothelial cell carcinoma. The patient had a history of superficial low-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, which had appeared 2 years before the onset of vulvar symptoms.

Conclusions

Eczematoid vulvar lesions merit careful clinical examination and biopsy, including vulva mapping and immunohistochemistry. The information obtained may help to define and classify a particular presentation of Paget disease. Noninvasive primary lesions do not require the same aggressive approaches required for the treatment of invasive and secondary disease.

Cytological diagnosis of patients with extramammary Paget's disease of the vagina

Extramammary Paget's Disease (EMPD), also called extramammary eczematoid carcinoma, is classified as primary and secondary EMPD based on the pathogenic mechanism. The origin of the Paget cells of primary EMPD is still controversial. Apocrine or eccrine gland cells, such as Bartholin's gland, and intraepidermal pluripotent keratinocyte stem cells have been considered possible originating cells of primary EMPD. Secondary EMPD usually originates from the malignancies of rectum, cervix, and urinary bladder. We report a case of a 58-year-old woman suffering from intermittent vaginal bleeding for half a year, who was diagnosed as EMPD by vaginal cytology.

Imiquimod in dermatology: an overview

Imiquimod is an immune response modifier commercially available as a 3.75 and 5% cream. Topical imiquimod stimulates the innate and adaptive immune responses and induces cytokine production. This allows its use for the treatment of a wide variety of benign and malignant skin conditions due to its potential antiviral, antitumor, and immunoregulatory effects. Currently, topical imiquimod is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for the treatment of anogenital warts, actinic keratosis, and superficial basal cell carcinomas. However, it has also shown a beneficial effect in the treatment of many other skin disorders. In this review, we describe existing evidence on the mechanism of action of topical imiquimod, its FDA-approved indications, off-label uses, and side effects.

Effects of imiquimod on vulvar Paget's disease: a systematic review of literature

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effectiveness of topical imiquimod therapy for vulvar Paget's disease.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted using three public search engines with entry keywords "Paget's disease" and "imiquimod". Case reports describing imiquimod treatment for vulvar Paget's disease were examined for demographics, treatment patterns, and outcome (63 cases).

RESULTS

Median age was 68, and nearly a half of cases were recurrent disease (50.8%) with surgical resection being the most common prior treatment modality (62.5%). All cases used 5% imiquimod and the median treatment duration was 4months. The most common initial treatment frequency was 3-4times/week (68.3%) followed by 5-7 (17.4%) and 1-2times/week (14.3%). Frequency-reduction due to adverse effects was seen in 9.5% with the initial 5-7times/week regimen being associated with the highest reduction rate (1-2, 3-4, and 5-7times/week: 0%, 2.3%, and 81.8%, p<0.01). In 46 (73.0%) cases, a complete remission (CR) to imiquimod therapy was reported, with 2, 4, and 6-month cumulative CR rates being 9.8%, 31.1%, and 71.6%, respectively. With median follow-up duration of 12months after the completion of imiquimod treatment, 2 (5.7%) of the 35 women who had a CR developed disease recurrence. Age, disease status (primary versus recurrent), and treatment frequency after dose reduction were not associated with CR rates (all, p>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggested that imiquimod therapy may be an effective possible treatment option for vulvar Paget's disease, especially for women who have experienced recurrence after multiple surgical resections or who are with poor surgical candidates.

Cytology of vulvar/vaginal paget disease: report of a case and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE

We describe a woman with a long-standing history of Paget disease involving the vulva and vagina, who was previously diagnosed with a high-grade squamous lesion, atypical glandular cells, and adenocarcinoma on various different yearly Pap tests.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This article is a case report of this patient and a review of the literature concerning the cytology of Paget disease.

RESULTS

By reviewing Pap test cytology findings, Paget cells were identified as atypical cell groups with enlarged nuclei and occasional prominent nucleoli and further characterized by immunoreactivity to carcinoembryonic antigen and gross cystic disease fluid protein that distinguished them from high-grade squamous lesion.

CONCLUSIONS

By enabling early diagnosis, regular surveillance, and identification of Paget cells by cytopathology, the Pap test becomes a valuable tool in identifying initial and recurrent Paget disease when it involves the vagina.

Topical pharmacotherapy for skin cancer: part II. Clinical applications

The purpose of the paper is to provide an in-depth, evidence-based analysis of the clinical use of topical treatments for skin cancer. A comprehensive review of topical drugs has been performed, including 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod, diclofenac, ingenol mebutate, retinoids, resiquimod, piroxicam, dobesilate, and betulinic acid. The evaluated studies were rated according to their level of evidence level (I-V), as indicated by recent guidelines for evidence-based medicine, The Oxford 2011 Levels of Evidence. Therapeutic response is generally related to tumor type, extent, and localization, and also to patient compliance. Careful patient selection is required in order to achieve the desired goal of complete tumor clearance.

Extramammary Paget's disease of the vulva

Vulvar Paget's disease is an extremely rare neoplasm that accounts for less than 1% of the vulvar malignancies. We present a case of a 75-year-old woman, who had an eczematoid lesion involving the labia majora and minora bilaterally, with infiltration to the clitoris. Enlarged non-fixed lymph nodes were palpable in the inguinal region bilaterally. A biopsy of the vulva showed Paget's disease. She underwent radical vulvectomy with bilateral inguinal lymph node dissection. The patient remained disease free at 6-month follow-up.

Extensive Invasive Extramammary Paget's Disease: Surgical Treatment

Extramammary Paget's disease is uncommon. Diagnosis has to be confirmed by histopathology. Treatment is a challenge in cases with extended tumors. We present a 70-year-old male patient with extensive genitoanal Paget's disease. Mohs surgery is the gold standard in such cases. Details of the surgical planning are discussed including wound bed preparation. Radiotherapy may be an alternative.