
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions โ written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Extramammary Paget's disease physical examination
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Common physical examination findings of extramammary Paget’s disease include well demarcated, erythematous or leucoplakic plaques present on the skin, characteristic โcake-icingโ appearance of vulval extramammary Paget’s disease, consisting of erythematous changes associated with white islands and bridges of hyperkeratotic epithelium, and lymphadenopathy.
Physical Examination
Physical Examination
Early skin changes may be subtle and vary according to location. Only slight erythema, crusting, and increased maceration may be noted, initially. However, pruritus commonly leads to prominent lichenification and excoriations. The most commonly affected site is the vulva, followed by perineal, perianal, scrotal and penile skin. Less commonly, the buttocks, axilla, thighs, eyelids and external auditory canal may be affected.[1][2]
A detailed review of systems and physical examination should be performed in all patients with extramammary Paget’s disease. The examination should include the following:[1][3]
Skin
- Well-demarcated, erythematous or leucoplakic plaques are present.
- May appear as chronic intertrigo or presumed tinea cruris
Genitourinary
- The affected skin may appear eczematous, papillomatous, lichenified, leucokeratotic, or ulcerated
- Whitish discharge may be present
- Characteristic โcake-icingโ appearance of vulval extramammary Paget’s disease, consisting of erythematous changes associated with white islands and bridges of hyperkeratotic epithelium
- Inguinal lymphadenopathy may present
- A palpable mass with or without lymphadenopathy raises suspicion of invasive disease
Neck
- Lymphadenopathy may be present
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Extramammary paget’s disease. With permission from Dermatology Atlas.[4]
References
References
- โ 1.0 1.1 Heymann WR (1993). “Extramammary Paget’s disease”. Clin Dermatol. 11 (1): 83โ7. PMIDย 8393362.
- โ Silverberg, Steven G., and Ronald A. DeLellis. Silverberg’s principles and practice of surgical pathology and cytopathology. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier, 2006. Print.
- โ Silverberg, Steven G., and Ronald A. DeLellis. Silverberg’s principles and practice of surgical pathology and cytopathology. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier, 2006. Print.
- โ “Dermatology Atlas”.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Kiran Singh, M.D. [2]Simrat Sarai, M.D. [3]

![Extramammary paget's disease. With permission from Dermatology Atlas.[4]](https://www.wikidoc.org/images/c/cb/Extramammary_paget%27s_disease01.jpg)