Paget's disease of the vulva

Lee, Hyun Chul; Kim, Young Tae; Kim, Sang Wun; Yoon, Bo Sung; Nam, Eun Ji; Kim, Sunghoon; Kim, Jae Hoon; Kim, Jae Wook; Cho, Nam Hoon

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
This study of Paget's disease of the vulva was conducted to evaluate whether the initial presenting symptoms, associated diseases and basic screening studies such as imaging studies and tumor markers could be used to predict the state of the disease, and to investigate whether the state of resection margins, bilaterality of the lesion, and the extent of the resection correlated with recurrence.
METHODS
This retrospective study was performed on 7 patients diagnosed as Paget's disease of the vulva from March, 1996 to April, 2006.
RESULTS
The average age of the patients was 62 year old (range, form 53 to 70). All patients had been menopaused with sustained inflammation signs, eczematoid skin lesion and pain of the external genitalia. None was related to the associated diseases. Preoperative radiologic imaging and tumor marker levels could not determine the extent of diseases. The patients were observed for a period of 31.6 months in average following surgery, during which the disease recurred in one patient. The factors such as resection margin status, bilaterality of the lesion, and the extent of the resection were not valid for indicating the recurrences.
CONCLUSION
As we have studied, there is limits to predict the recurrence or the state of the disease. Thus leaving enough resection margins for treatment and long term close follow-up should be essential for treatment of patients with Paget's disease of the vulva.