Mammary Paget Disease

Sir James Paget, in 1874, identified 15 female patients with chronic nipple lesions; all of them developed breast cancers later on. These lesions were described as eczematous ulcerative or vesicular lesions with clear yellowish exudate. Initially, these lesions were considered benign in nature, but it was subsequently discovered that these epidermal lesions, which are usually present over nipple and areola, had malignant cells. This condition was later described as mammary Paget disease (MPD) or Paget disease of the breast (PDB). A similar disease process was identified in female and male external genitalia, known as extramammary Paget's disease. The histological features of both conditions are the same, but the pathogenesis is different.