[10] Paget's disease of the breast is difficult to diagnose by physical exam alone due to its resemblance to dermatitis and eczema.

[5] Less commonly, samples of nipple discharge may also be examined under the microscope to determine whether Paget cells are present.

Treatment is variable and is determined by the type of breast cancer in addition to its staging and prognostic considerations.

Patients then usually undergo radiation therapy after surgery as an adjuvant treatment to prevent recurrence.

Adjuvant therapy is given to patients with cancer as a secondary form of treatment to minimize the risk of recurrence by targeting undetectable metastases.

In Paget's disease of the breast, the most common type of adjuvant therapy is radiation following breast-conservative surgery as discussed above.

In cases of invasive cancer, radical mastectomy is performed: removal of the breast, the lining over the chest muscles, and affected lymph nodes from under the arm.

In cases of noninvasive cancers, simple mastectomy are performed in which only the breast with the lining over the chest muscles is removed.