Elenwo SN* and Jamabo RS
Background: Paget’s disease of the breast is rare. It is one of the foremost subtypes of carcinoma of the breast, accounting for only 1-3% of all breast tumors. It is often misdiagnosed because of its unusual presentation and absence of a breast lump in nearly half of the patients. This study aims at evaluating the epidemiology and outcome of surgical treatment of Paget’s disease of the breast in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Methods: This is a retrospective study of cases of Paget’s disease of the breast seen and managed in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria over a 20 year period. The patients were analyzed for age, sex, clinical presentation and treatment given.
Results: A total of 24 patients out of 2,105 cases of carcinoma of the breast were seen to have Paget’s disease. All were females aged 30 to 55 years and all had unilateral disease. Only 10% of the patients had a palpable mass on the breast. All the patients had biopsies either of the skin or both skin and breast lump.
Conclusion: Paget’s disease of the breast is uncommon and easily misdiagnosed. This calls for wedge resection and/or histology of any mass seen for any patient presenting with eczematous lesions on the nipples.
