Breast Implants and Breast Cancer

In one of the largest studies on the long-term health effects of silicone breast implants, researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., found no association between breast implants and the subsequent risk of breast cancer. The study is published in the November issue of Cancer Causes and Control.

Breast implants first appeared on the market in 1962. Manufacturers initially assumed that the implants were biologically inactive and therefore would have no harmful effects. However, over the past two decades there have been a number of reports of connective tissue disorders and cancers among implant patients.

In 1992, because of the lack of sufficient evidence on the long-term safety of implants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restricted the use of silicone breast implants to women seeking breast reconstruction in controlled clinical trials. Congress directed the National Institutes of Health to undertake a large follow-up study to evaluate the long-term health effects of the implants.

“This is the first part of our analysis of the health risks from the study,” said Louise A. Brinton, principal investigator from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) in Bethesda, Md. “For women followed for more than 10 years there was no change in breast cancer risk. Our results do not confirm the findings from several other studies that exposure to implants reduces a woman's risk for breast cancer. This may relate to the longer follow-up in this study as compared with most others.”

Source: National Cancer Institute