Breast Implants
Below are a few specific points to remember related to breast cancer in patients with cosmetic breast implants:
Breast Implants and Risk of Breast Cancer: Women who have undergone cosmetic breast implantation do not have an increased risk of breast cancer. [1]
Breast Implants and Breast Cancer Survival: A meta-analysis showed reduced survival after breast cancer among women who had implants compared with those who did not (overall hazard ratio for breast cancer specific mortality 1.38, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.75) [2]. This can be due to the delayed detection of breast cancer in these patients because implants can interfere with mammography
Mammography and Silicon Implants: The presence of silicone gel-filled breast implants may interfere with standard mammography since silicone is radiopaque, and the physical presence of the implant compresses fat and glandular tissues, creating more homogeneous dense tissue that frequently lacks the contrast needed to detect subtle early features associated with breast cancer [3]
Breast Implants and Stage at Diagnosis: A 2013 systematic review of 12 studies found that women with breast cancer who had breast implants are diagnosed with later-stage cancers than women with breast cancer who did not have implants [4]
Breast cancer screening schedule and Breast Implants: Though breast augmentation decreases the sensitivity of screening mammography among asymptomatic women but does not increase the false-positive rate [5]. Thus it is advised that women with breast implants should undergo screening at the same schedule as women without breast implants.
References
[1] Noels EC, Lapid O, Lindeman JH, Bastiaannet E. Breast implants and the risk of breast cancer: a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Aesthet Surg J. 2015 Jan;35(1):55-62. doi: 10.1093/asj/sju006. PMID:25568234
[2] Lavigne Eric, Holowaty Eric J, Pan Sai Yi, Villeneuve Paul J, Johnson Kenneth C, Fergusson Dean A et al. Breast cancer detection and survival among women with cosmetic breast implants: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies BMJ 2013; 346 :f2399
[3] Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Safety of Silicone Breast Implants; Bondurant S, Ernster V, Herdman R, editors. Safety of Silicone Breast Implants. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1999. 12, Silicone Implants and Breast Imaging.Available from: Silicone Implants and Breast Imaging - Safety of Silicone Breast Implants - NCBI Bookshelf
[4] Lavigne E., Holowaty EJ, Pan SY, Villeneuve PJ, Johnson KC, Fergusson DA, Morrison H, & Brisson J. Breast cancer detection and survival among women with cosmetic breast implants: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
[5] Handel N. The effect of silicone implants on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of breast cancer. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2007 Dec;120(7 Suppl 1):81S-93S. Review. PubMed PMID: 18090817
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