CEA

Extramammary Paget Disease: a Therapeutic Challenge, for a Rare Entity

Extramammary Paget Disease: a Therapeutic Challenge, for a Rare Entity

Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is a rare entity which is more frequently localized at the vulva, though it only accounts for 1–2% of vulvar neoplasms. It is a primary cutaneous adenocarcinoma whose cell of origin is still a matter of controversy: it can either arise from apocrine/eccrine glands or from stem cells. The diagnosis demands a biopsy and entails a histopathological analysis by which cells show similar characteristics as breast Paget disease.

Treatment approach can entail surgery, radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy, systemic chemotherapy, and topical chemotherapy. For metastatic disease, many different chemotherapy regimens have been explored and even targeted therapy can play an important role in this disease. Since almost 30–40% of patients overexpress HER-2, trastuzumab and anti-HER-2 therapies can be employed in this setting.

Due to its low incidence, there is almost no specific evidence on therapeutic interventions for this disease. Thus, there is a neat unmet need for molecular characterization of EMPD and diagnostic tools that allow clinicians to guide treatment both in the early and in the advanced disease settings. In this review, we aim to summarize available evidence about diagnosis and treatment of EMPD, both localized and metastatic, and to provide a comprehensive analysis that may help clinicians for therapeutic decisions.

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Serum cytokeratin 19 fragment 21‐1 and carcinoembryonic antigen combination assay as a biomarker of tumour progression and treatment response in extramammary Paget's disease

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Serum cytokeratin 19 fragment 21‐1 and carcinoembryonic antigen combination assay as a biomarker of tumour progression and treatment response in extramammary Paget's disease

Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare intraepithelial adenocarcinoma affecting the genitals and axillary regions. As metastasis of these tumours is itself rare, solid disease management strategies have not been established. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 19 fragment 21‐1 (CYFRA 21‐1) levels have been identified as candidate biomarkers for tumour progression in EMPD; however, neither the accuracy of, nor correlation between, these markers have been examined in EMPD patients.

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Serum cell‐free DNA levels are useful marker for extramammary Paget's disease

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Serum cell‐free DNA levels are useful marker for extramammary Paget's disease

Although carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA) are useful marker for extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD), the serum CEA and CYFRA levels are not elevated in most EMPD patients without metastasis. Therefore, further useful biomarkers are needed for the detection of EMPD including early lesions. Cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) has attracted attention as an indicator of clinical conditions in several cancers, and we studied the clinical implications of cfDNA for EMPD. The serum cfDNA levels were significantly elevated in EMPD patients with or without metastasis compared to those in healthy controls. And serum cfDNA was a better diagnostic marker for the presence of EMPD compared to serum CYFRA. Moreover, the post‐operative serum cfDNA levels were significantly lower than those from the pre‐operative samples, and the change in serum cfDNA levels reflected the clinical courses of EMPD patients treated with chemotherapy. Taken together, serum cfDNA levels may be useful marker for the diagnosis and disease progression in EMPD.

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Extramammary Paget Disease

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Extramammary Paget Disease

Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is a rare dermatologic condition that frequently presents in areas where apocrine sweat glands are abundant, most commonly the vulva, although perineal, scrotal, perianal, and penile skin may also be affected. Lesions clinically present as erythematous, well-demarcated plaques that may become erosive, ulcerated, scaly, or eczematous. Extramammary Paget disease has a female predominance and usually occurs in the sixth to eighth decades of life. Professionals disagree about many aspects of EMPD, for example, the prevalence of concurrent vulvar adenocarcinoma or invasive EMPD, association with regional and distant cancers, and recurrence rates following surgical excision. Early recognition is imperative because the diagnosis is frequently delayed and there is a high incidence of associated invasive disease.

Serum cytokeratin 19 fragment 21-1 is a useful tumor marker for the assessment of extramammary Paget's disease.

Serum cytokeratin 19 fragment 21-1 is a useful tumor marker for the assessment of extramammary Paget's disease.

Cytokeratin 19 fragment 21-1 (CYFRA 21-1) has been used as a tumor marker for several malignancies. However, to date, no studies have assessed whether CYFRA 21-1 could be a useful marker for extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD). The present study aimed to evaluate the significance of CYFRA 21-1 as a serum tumor marker for EMPD progression. Concentrations of serum CYFRA 21-1 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in 13 cases of EMPD were measured prior to undergoing treatment at Sapporo Medical University Hospital from January 2014 to May 2016. Four of the 13 patients had lymph node metastases at diagnosis, but none had distant metastases. Immunohistochemistry indicated that all 13 primary tumors and four metastatic tumors in lymph nodes were positive for cytokeratin 19. Although none of the 13 patients showed high serum CEA levels, six patients (46.2%) had elevated serum CYFRA 21-1. Furthermore, CYFRA 21-1 was reduced in association with post-treatment tumor reduction in all six patients. Among these six patients, four developed recurrence and metastasis during the follow-up period. CYFRA 21-1 was re-elevated in all four of these patients; however, serum CEA was elevated only in the patient with distant metastasis. These results suggest that CYFRA 21-1 is more sensitive compared with CEA, and can be useful as a tumor marker for evaluating tumor progression and treatment efficacy in patients with EMPD.

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