Extramammary Paget's disease: a novel approach to treatment using a modification of peripheral Mohs micrographic surgery.

ABSTRACT

Extramammary Paget's disease is a rare intraepithelial adenocarcinoma typified histologically by the presence of Paget cells. Treatment has historically been surgical, with wide excision being the standard of care. However, due to clinically indeterminate margins and diffuse spread, local recurrence rates remain high. Mohs micrographic surgery has been proposed to improve the rate of local recurrence. Application of Mohs technique to treat extramammary Paget's disease can be difficult because of the large size of these lesions. Reported excisions either involved lengthy procedures or peripheral Mohs modification. The peripheral technique does not evaluate the depth of the central lesion, yet prognosis and lymph node involvement are directly related to the degree of vertical invasion. In this study, we discuss our experience with extramammary Paget's disease, along with a novel approach to treatment by using a modification of peripheral Mohs micrographic surgery that incorporates histologic analysis of the central specimen's depth.