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Extramammary Paget's disease:
Author(s) -
Urabe Atsumichi,
Matsukuma Akito,
Shimizu Nobuyuki,
Nishimura Masayuki,
Wada Hideytoshi,
Hori Ysoshiaki
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0560.1990.tb00099.x
Subject(s) - apocrine , pathology , extramammary paget's disease , medicine , eosinophilic , vulva , carcinoembryonic antigen , adenocarcinoma , immunohistochemistry , axilla , breast cancer , cancer , disease
We examined 32 cases (38 lesions) of extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) in relation to comparative studies on intraductal carcinoma of the breast (ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS) and apocrine adenocarcinoma (AAC). Lesions included scrotum (18 lesions), vulva (8), axilla (6), groin (3), penis (2) and chest wall (1), and the distribution was compatible with that of apocrine or supernumerary mammary glands. Histologically, extra‐mammary Paget's and DCIS cells exhibited a large amount of a pale‐stained cytoplasm. The cytoplasm of AAC cells frequently contained granules, was eosinophilic and differed from that of Paget's or DCIS cells. Immunohistochemical studies revealed positive reactions for polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen in all EMPD and most DCIS, but not in AAC. Recent studies have shown that extramammary Paget's cells exhibit characteristics of glandular epithelial cells and that most cases of EMPD are not accompanied by an underlying carcinoma. The results obtained in this study, coupled with data on the frequency of the supernumerary breasts, lead to the speculation that extramammary Paget's cells originate from ectopic mammary glands or from pluripotential germinative cells in the epidermis, capable of differentiating toward the mammary glands.