Paget’s Disease of the Breast – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments
Paget’s Disease of the Breast – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments. In addition, Paget’s disease of the breast is a type of tumor that affects the areola and/or nipple, representing 0.5 to 4.3% of all cases of breast carcinoma . It can be asymptomatic or associated with hyperemia and eczema. There are two theories to explain the origin of Paget’s disease in the breast.
The most accepted theory suggests that tumor cells grow in the breast ducts and progress towards the nipple epidermis. The other theory about Paget’s disease in the breast proposes that tumor cells develop already in the terminal portion of the lactiferous ducts, at the junction with the epidermis. The mean age of affected patients varies between 26 and 88 years, but the peak incidence occurs between 60 and 70 years of age. Approximately 85 to 90% of cases are associated with carcinoma in situ or infiltrative carcinoma. Then check out Paget’s Disease of the Breast – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments.
Symptoms Paget’s Disease of the Breast: The symptoms of Paget’s disease of the breast are quite characteristic. Injury to the breasts usually occurs on the skin surface of the nipples or on the areolas of the breasts . When the occurrence is mammary , this is the only symptom of Paget ‘s disease . When the occurrence is bone, other symptoms appear, such as deep bone pain that does not improve with rest, bone deformations perceptible to the touch in areas such as the skull and hearing changes when the disease affects the bones of the ear .
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When Paget’s disease affects the spine, there is also compression of the nerves and tingling, pain , or lack of sensation in the lower limbs. When it affects the pelvis, the patient can find it very difficult to get around.
In many cases, however, Paget’s disease of the bone begins asymptomatically, being discovered by chance in case of fractures or routine bone exams. Despite being a malformation, the affected bone develops a malignant tumor in less than 1% of cases.
Treatment Paget’s Disease of the Breast: Diagnosis of Paget’s disease of the breast must be made by biopsy of the lesion and accompanying carcinomas. Dermatitis and eczemashould be excludedMammography also helps to locate intramammary formations and rule out other diseases .
When bony, Paget ‘s disease is usually detected through an X-ray or MRI. In this case, the treatment is done by means of drugs, taken orally or injected, which reorganize bone metabolism , preventing its destruction and regulating chemical levels in the production of new cells. This treatment lasts, on average, six months.
When breast Paget’s disease did occur , the only treatment available until recent days was the extraction of the entire breast . Today, thanks to advances in medicine, the doctor can opt for partial extraction of the nipple complex , accompanied by radiotherapy or chemotherapy to prevent the disease from returning .
Even the occurrence of Paget’s syndrome in the breast does not indicate cancer and the use of radiotherapy or chemotherapy only serves to kill all the defective cells at the site without having to extract the entire breast .
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The occurrence of bone paget syndrome also does not indicate similar changes in the breast and vice versa. The disease always affects a specific site and, once successfully eliminated, has little chance of returning.