SCRAPE CYTOLOGY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF PAGETS-DISEASE OF THE BREAST

Eczema of the nipple is an important symptom presenting to the general surgeon in the out-patient department. The diagnosis of Paget's disea se of the nipple has traditionally been made by incision biopsy necess itating at least a local anaesthetic. We present 14 patients with nipp le skin change, in whom the technique of scrape cytology was used to i dentify patients with Paget's disease. In our series eight cases of Pa get's disease were successfully identified by scrape cytology with no false negatives or positives. We suggest that this is a quick, easy, n on-invasive method of screening eczema of the nipple in the out-patien t clinic.