Paget's Disease of the Breast

Content provided by National Organization for Rare Disorders

Important

It is possible that the main title of the report Paget's Disease of the Breast is not the name you expected. Please check the synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and disorder subdivision(s) covered by this report.

Synonyms

• Paget's Disease of the Nipple
• Mammary Paget's Disease
• Paget's Disease of the Nipple and Areola

Disorder Subdivisions

• None

General Discussion

Paget's disease of the breast is a rare form of breast cancer that almost exclusively occurs in women. However, rare cases have been recorded in which men have been affected. The condition was originally reported in 1874 by Sir James Paget, an English surgeon, who also described an unrelated skeletal condition known as Paget's disease of the bone. It is essential to note that these disorders are distinct disease entities that are medically unrelated.



Paget's disease of the breast is characterized by inflammatory, "eczema-like" changes of the nipple that may extend to involve the areola, which is the circular, darkened (pigmented) region of skin surrounding the nipple. Initial findings often include itching (pruritus), scaling, and crusting of and/or discharge from the nipple. In those with Paget's disease of the breast, distinctive tumor cells (known as Paget cells) are present within the outermost layer of skin (epidermis) of the nipple. In addition, the condition is often associated with an underlying malignancy (i.e., cancer) of the milk ducts (ductal carcinoma). The malignancy may be confined to cells lining the milk ducts (carcinoma in situ) or may have invaded surrounding tissue (infiltrating carcinoma). (The milk ducts [lactiferous ducts] are the channels that carry milk secreted by lobes of the breast to the nipple.) Paget's disease of the breast is thought to represent approximately two to four percent of breast cancers.

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Resources

National Women's Health Network

514 10th Street NW

Suite 400

Washington, D.C. 20004

USA

Tel: 2026287814

Fax: 2023471168

Email: nwhn@nwhn.org

Internet: http://www.womenshealthnetwork.org



Skin Cancer Foundation

245 Fifth Avenue

Suite 1403

New York, NY 10016

Fax: (212)725-5751

Tel: (800)754-6490

Email: info@skincancer.org

Internet: http://www.skincancer.org



American Cancer Society, Inc.

1599 Clifton Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30329

USA

Tel: 4043203333

Tel: 8002272345

Internet: http://www.cancer.org



Breast Cancer Advisory Center

P.O. Box 334

Kensington, MD 20895



National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations

9 East 37th Street

10th Floor

New York, NY 10016

USA

Tel: 2128890606

Fax: 2126891213

Tel: 8888062226

Email: nabcoinfo@aol.com

Internet: http://www.nabco.org



National Cancer Institute Physician Data Query (PDQ) Cancer Information Service

9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, MD 20892

Tel: (800)422-6237

Internet: http://www.cancernet.nci.nih.gov/pdq.html



National Cancer Institute

6116 Executive Blvd, MSC 8322, Room 3036A

Bethesda, MD 20892-8322

USA

Tel: 3014353848

Tel: 8004226237

TDD: 8003328615

Internet: http://www.cancer.gov



Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization

212 West Van Buren

4th Floor

Chicago, IL 60607-3908

USA

Tel: 3129868338

Fax: 3122948598

Tel: 8009868228

Email: info@y-me.org

Internet: http://www.y-me.org



National Breast Cancer Coalition

1707 L Street Northwest

Suite 1060

Washington, DC 20036

Tel: (202)296-7477

Fax: (202)265-6854

Tel: (800)622-2838

Email: pgoddard@natlbcc.org

Internet: http://www.natlbcc.org



OncoLink: The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center Resource

3400 Spruce Street

2 Donner

Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283

USA

Tel: 2153495445

Fax: 2153495445

Email: editors@oncolink.upenn.edu

Internet: http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu



SHARE - Self-Help For Women With Breast or Ovarian Cancer

1501 Broadway

Suite 704A

New York, NY 10036

Tel: (212)719-0364

Fax: (212)869-3431

Internet: http://www.sharecancersupport.org



Canadian Breast Cancer Network

331 rue Cooper Street

Suite 602

Ottawa

Ontario, Intl K2P 0G5

Canada

Tel: 6137883311

Fax: 6132331056

Tel: 8006858820

Email: cbcn@cbcn.ca

Internet: http://www.cbcn.ca



Breast Cancer Society of Canada

401 St. Clair Street

Point Edward

Ontario, N7V 1P2

Canada

Tel: 5193360746

Fax: 5193365725

Email: bcsc@bcsc.ca

Internet: http://www.bcsc.ca



Friends of Cancer Research

2231 Crystal Drive

Suite 200

Arlington, VA 22202

Tel: (703)302-1503

Fax: (703)302-1568

Email: info@focr.org

Internet: http://www.focr.org



Wellness Community

919 18th Street N.W.

Suite 54

Washington, DC 20006

Tel: (202)659-9709

Fax: (202)659-9301

Tel: (888)793-9355

Email: help@thewellnesscommunity.org

Internet: http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org



Lance Armstrong Foundation

PO Box 161550

Austin, TX 78716-1150

Tel: (512)236-8820

Fax: (512)236-8482

Tel: (866)235-7205

Internet: http://www.livestrong.org

For a Complete Report

This is an abstract of a report from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. ® (NORD). A copy of the complete report can be obtained for a small fee by visiting the NORD website. The complete report contains additional information including symptoms, causes, affected population, related disorders, standard and investigational treatments (if available), and references from medical literature. For a full-text version of this topic, see http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdblist.html

The information provided in this report is not intended for diagnostic purposes. It is provided for informational purposes only. NORD recommends that affected individuals seek the advice or counsel of their own personal physicians.

It is possible that the title of this topic is not the name you selected. Please check the Synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and Disorder Subdivision(s) covered by this report.

This disease entry is based upon medical information available through the date at the end of the topic. Since NORD's resources are limited, it is not possible to keep every entry in the Rare Disease Database completely current and accurate. Please check with the agencies listed in the Resources section for the most current information about this disorder.

For additional information and assistance about rare disorders, please contact the National Organization for Rare Disorders at P.O. Box 1968, Danbury, CT 06813-1968; phone (203) 744-0100; web site www.rarediseases.org or email orphan@rarediseases.org

Last Updated:  4/1/2008

Copyright  1990, 2000 National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.

Last updated:	April 01, 2008