Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies

Paget's disease of the breast Microchapters
Home
Patient Information
Overview
Historical Perspective
Classification
Pathophysiology
Causes
Differentiating Paget's disease of the breast from other Diseases
Epidemiology and Demographics
Risk Factors
Screening
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
Diagnosis
Staging
History and Symptoms
Physical Examination
Biopsy
Ultrasonography
MRI
Other Imaging Findings
Other Diagnostic Studies
Treatment
Medical Therapy
Surgery
Cost-Effectiveness of Therapy
Future or Investigational Therapies
Case Studies
Case #1
Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies On the Web
Most recent articles
cited articles
Review articles
CME Programs
Powerpoint slides
Images
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies All Images X-rays Echo & Ultrasound CT Images MRI
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse
NICE Guidance
FDA on Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies
CDC on Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies
Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies in the news
Blogs on Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies
Directions to Hospitals Treating Paget's disease of the breast
Risk calculators and risk factors for Paget's disease of the breast other diagnostic studies

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Preeti Singh, M.B.B.S.[2]

Overview

The use of touch/scrape smears for cytological diagnosis is recommended to prevent delay in diagnosis. Mainly in patients who are reluctant to undergo other diagnostic procedures such as wedge biopsy, shave biopsy, surgical excision. A negative result does not exclude the diagnosis of Paget's disease of the breast. In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy allows visualization of the upper layers of the skin at a cellular resolution, may also assist in the early diagnosis of Paget's disease in reluctant patients.

Other Diasgnostic Findings

Cytology

• The use of touch/scrape smears for cytological diagnosis is recommended to prevent delay in diagnosis.
• Mainly in patients who are reluctant to undergo other diagnostic procedures such as wedge biopsy, shave biopsy, surgical excision.
• Due to the difficulty in differentiating Paget's disease from inflammatory skin conditions or squamous neoplasia on cytology, a biopsy of the nipple and areola is generally preferred for definitive diagnosis.
• Cytology of skin scrapings many time display the presence of:

• Single malignant cells with vacuolated cytoplasm and eccentric nuclei
• Three dimensional cell aggregates
• Acinar groups consistent with glandular differentiation

• A negative result does not exclude the diagnosis of Paget's disease of the breast.

In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy

In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy allows visualization of the upper layers of the skin at a cellular resolution, may also assist in the early diagnosis of Paget's disease in reluctant patients.