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Cosmetic breast implants may adversely affect survival in women who develop breast cancer

Date:
April 30, 2013
Source:
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Summary:
Cosmetic breast implants seem to adversely affect the survival of women who are subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer, finds a small study.
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The authors stress that these findings should be interpreted with caution as some studies did not adjust for other potential confounding factors. They call for further investigations into the long term health effects of breast implants.

Cosmetic breast implants have become increasingly popular, but some studies have suggested that implants can make it more difficult to detect breast cancer at an early stage because they create shadows on mammograms that can obscure some breast tissue.

A team of researchers based in Canada wanted to find out whether the stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed -- and post-diagnosis survival -- differed between women with and without cosmetic breast implants.

First they analysed the results of 12 observational studies, all published after 1993 and conducted mainly in the US, northern Europe and Canada. They found that women with cosmetic breast implants had a 26% increased risk of being diagnosed at a later stage of breast cancer than women without implants.

They then analysed the results of a further five studies and found that women with cosmetic breast implants had a 38% greater risk of death from breast cancer than women without implants.

However, the authors warn that these findings "should be interpreted with caution as some studies included in the meta-analysis on survival did not adjust for potential confounders."

They point to some study limitations, but say "the accumulating evidence suggests that women with cosmetic breast implants who develop breast cancer have an increased risk of being diagnosed as having non-localized breast tumors more frequently than do women with breast cancer who do not have implants."

Current evidence also suggests that cosmetic breast implants "adversely affect breast cancer specific survival following the diagnosis of such disease," they add.

"Further investigations are warranted into the long term effects of cosmetic breast implants on the detection and prognosis of breast cancer, adjusting for potential confounders," they conclude.


Story Source:

Materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Eric Lavigne et al. Breast cancer detection and survival among women with cosmetic breast implants: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ, 2013 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.f2399

Cite This Page:

BMJ-British Medical Journal. "Cosmetic breast implants may adversely affect survival in women who develop breast cancer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 April 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430194312.htm>.
BMJ-British Medical Journal. (2013, April 30). Cosmetic breast implants may adversely affect survival in women who develop breast cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430194312.htm
BMJ-British Medical Journal. "Cosmetic breast implants may adversely affect survival in women who develop breast cancer." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430194312.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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