Significant male predisposition in extramammary Paget disease: a nationwide population-based study in Taiwan

Abstract

P.C. and C.L. contributed equally to this work. Funding sources: this study was supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC 99‐2314‐B‐384‐002‐MY3, NSC 102‐2320‐B‐384‐003) and Chi Mei Medical Center (CMFHR9952, CMFHR10227). Conflicts of interest: none declared. Dear Editor, Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) was first described by Crocker in 1889.1 It is a rare intraepithelial malignancy that affects mainly the apocrine‐gland‐bearing skin including the vulva, perianal region, perineum and scrotum. Increasing frequency of the disease appears in patients aged 50–80 years. It occurs most frequently in the white population, and has been reported to have a female predominance (male‐to‐female ratios between 1 : 2 and 1 : 7).2 3 4 5 6 However, a male predominance had been reported by single‐ or multicentre studies in Japan, Korea and China (male‐to‐female ratios between 2 : 1 and 4 : 1).7 8 9 10 Although the prevalence of EMPD in different sexes seems to be reversed between Asian and Western populations, there is a lack of large series of studies to support the male preponderance and incidence trends of EMPD in Taiwan.