A Toker cell is an epithelial cell with clear cytoplasm in the

nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth m ...

of some women. Toker cells are believed to develop from

sebaceous gland A sebaceous gland is a microscopic exocrine gland in the skin that opens into a hair follicle to secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, which lubricates the hair and skin of mammals. In humans, sebaceous glands occur in the greatest nu ...

s. They are cytokeratin 7 (CK7) positive, in contrast to squamous epithelium. Rarely, they can be numerous and atypical, and difficult to distinguish from malignant cells of

Paget's disease of the breast Paget's disease of the breast is a type of cancer that outwardly may have the appearance of eczema, with skin changes involving the nipple of the breast. The condition is an uncommon disease accounting for 1 to 4.3% of all breast cancers and was ...

. In such cases, immunohistochemistry using

CD138 Syndecan 1 is a protein which in humans is encoded by the ''SDC1'' gene. The protein is a transmembrane (type I) heparan sulfate proteoglycan and is a member of the syndecan proteoglycan family. The syndecan-1 protein functions as an integral m ...

and

p53 p53, also known as Tumor protein P53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thought to be, and often s ...

can be used for distinction, both being negative in Toker cells and positive in Paget's disease.

References

{{pathology-stub Epithelium Nipple