| Breast implants for cosmetic purposes and long-term risk of developing cancer
There continues to be considerable interest in the possible adverse health effects from silicone gel-filled implants. While prospective studies have generally found that women who receive breast implants for cosmetic purposes do not have higher risks for developing breast cancer, many of studies have not followed women for sufficiently long time or have had relatively small sample sizes. The sample sizes have also limited their ability to look at the risk for rarer forms of cancer. Results from our cohort study of Canadian women were recently reported in the International Journal of Cancer. Our study represents the largest cohort of women with breast implants assembled to date. This included nearly 25,000 women who received breast implants for cosmetic purposes, and approximately 16,000 who underwent other plastic surgery procedures. The cancer experience of the women in the cohort was determined by linking their patients records to the Canadian national cancer registration database. We found no increased risks of cancer among women who received breast implants. This finding was true for women who received saline implants, as well as those who received silicone gel filled implants. The results of our study are consistent with other epidemiological work, and suggest that women who receive breast implants for cosmetic reasons are not at a higher long-term risk of developing cancer.
Bibliographical reference: Lin
Xie
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