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