Breast Implants May Increase A Woman's Chances Of Dying Of Breast Cancer: A Study

Breast implants may adversely affect the survival of women subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.

The study’s authors explained that while cosmetic breast augmentation has become increasingly popular, with an increase of 800 percent in the United States alone since the early 1990s, the long term health effects of the procedure have largely remain unknown

For this reason, the group, led by epidemiologist Eric Lavigne and Professor Jacques Brisson, both from Quebec university hospital’s research center, analyzed 12 studies published after 1993, mainly in the U.S., northern Europe and Canada.

In all, the researchers found that women with implants had a 26 percent increased risk of being diagnosed at a later stage of breast cancer than women without.

Furthermore, they found that women with implants had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from breast cancer when compared to other women.

Though, the scientists stressed, the evidence from epidemiological studies did not indicate that cosmetic breast implants were associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

“Concerns remain, however,” the group wrote, “that implants may impair the ability to identify breast cancer at an early stage by mammography because cosmetic breast implants are radio-opaque, impairing the visualization of breast tissue with mammography and making detection of breast cancer at an early stage more difficult.”

The team further explained that while specialized radiographic techniques have been developed for women with breast implants in order to improve visualization, a process which includes displacing the implant against the chest wall and pulling breast tissue over and in front of the implant, one third of the breast is still not “adequately visualized” during this method.

Ultimately, the group wrote that more investigation is “warranted regarding diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer among women with breast implants” as research published to date include studies on survival that are not adjusted for potential confounders.