Q: The nipples are eroded and crusted, and yellowish fluid oozes out after the crusts are removed. This condition keeps recurring, and treatment as eczema does not improve.
Li Bili, Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University
A: There is a special type of breast cancer called Paget’s disease, which is also called eczema-like cancer. As the name implies, it is mainly characterized by eczema-like changes in the nipples, and many patients think it is eczema and go to dermatology for treatment. Eczema-like carcinoma is a type of breast cancer that occurs in the large ducts under the nipple and has a very good prognosis, but should be treated early. The main clinical manifestations are nipple erosion, eczema and crusting, with yellowish fluid oozing out after the scabs fall off. The disease is recurrent and does not heal, and it is difficult to feel the lump in the early stage. Sometimes it is difficult to have a positive finding on target mammography, and a definite mass may or may not be detected on ultrasonography. The diagnosis is based mainly on the above-mentioned typical manifestations and can only be made by an experienced surgeon who performs a biopsy of the papillary complex. Once the diagnosis is clear, immediate surgical treatment is required. Because Paijer’s disease is a well-differentiated, slow progressing disease, easy to detect early and diagnose early and treat early, so the treatment effect is more ideal and easy to achieve the radical effect.