ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2009) — There may be some new added benefits to breast reduction surgery. Testing tissue and fat removed during the procedure may lead to increased cancer detection, reports a new study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2009 conference, Oct. 23-27, in Seattle.

Two-hundred-two cases were evaluated. Cancerous or pre-cancerous cells were found in 12.4 percent of patients. Age was significantly associated with negative pathologic findings. The rate of cancer was 6.2 percent in women 40 years or older and 7.9 percent in women 50 years or older. None of the lesions were identified on pre-operative mammograms.

The authors suggest that increased testing in breast reduction patients can help to identify at-risk patients, especially in breast reduction patients over 40.

Nearly 90,000 women had breast reduction surgery in 2008, up 5 percent since 2000, reports the ASPS.

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Adapted from materials provided by American Society of Plastic Surgeons, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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