Fw: Inaccurate statements on GMA on breast implants

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----- Original Message ----- From: Myrl Jeffcoat

myrlj@...

Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 7:23 AM

Subject: Inaccurate statements on GMA on breast implants

Thank you , for sending us the following. . .Myrl

----

4 December 2002

Dr. Snyderman

Good Morning America

ABC News

New York, NY

Dear Dr. Snyderman:

I am writing to express my concern about this morning’s segment on silicone breast implants on Good Morning America. Your statement that "Hundreds of medical studies then and since then have been done, not finding any link between silicone implants and cancer, MS, lupus, or other diseases," is unfortunately completely inaccurate.

Last year, three major studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical school faculty members found a statistically significant link between silicone breast implants and cancer and other potentially debilitating and fatal diseases. For example, the first study to systematically evaluate the health of women with ruptured breast implants raised serious concerns about silicone implants. A team of scientists led by Dr. Lori Brown of the FDA reported that women women with leaking silicone breast implants were significantly more likely to report that they were diagnosed with fibromyalgia, pulmonary fibrosis, and connective-tissue diseases such as dermatomyositis.1 These are all painful and potentially debilitating diseases.

Two major studies conducted at the National Institutes of Health also raise questions about the long-term safety of breast implants. A team of researchers led by Louise Brinton, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) published two studies indicating diseases were more likely among women who had breast implants for at least eight years. One of the studies found that women with breast implants are more likely to die from brain tumors, lung cancer, other respiratory diseases, and suicide compared to other plastic surgery patients.2 (Reported smoking was controlled, although it may well have been a contributing factor.) The other study found a 21% overall increased risk of cancer for women with implants, compared to women of the same age in the general population.3 The same researchers found no link between breast implants and breast cancer.

Several years ago, in the only systemic health study of removed silicone gel implants, doctors found that 97% of women with pain and other rheumatologic symptoms felt better after their implants were removed and not replaced. Many symptoms lessened or disappeared over the next few months. In contrast, 96% of the women who did not have their implants removed became even more ill.4 Although the study was not conducted at the National Cancer Institute, the first author is currently working at NCI.

These studies are all important because, unlike previous research, they focus on women who have had breast implants for at least seven years. That may explain why the findings are different than previous research, which was funded by the manufacturers or plastic surgeons and included women who had implants for only a few months. I have attached two of the abstracts for your reference, and included a link to the FDA study summary. Three of the four studies are available online. I am mailing Dr. Aziz's abstract with a hard copy of this letter. Summaries are also available on our think tank’s web site at www.center4policy.org.

I sincerely hope that in future segments, you will correct the record on breast implants. It may be that new types of breast implants are safer than old ones, but since implants are long-term devices, we won't find out until women have had those implants for at least 10 years. Based on the research so far, long-term safety has not been established, and independent research tends to find problems that are not revealed in industry-funded research or in independent reports (such as the Institute of Medicine's report) that summarized industry-funded research.

Sincerely,

Zuckerman, Ph.D.President

Footnotes

Brown SL, Pennello G, Berg WA, Soo MS, Middleton MS. Silicone Gel Breast Implant Rupture, Extracapsular Silicone, and Health Status in a Population of Women. The Journal of Rheumatology 2001;28:996-1003. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/extracapstudy.html Brinton, LA, Lubin, JH, Burich, MC, Colton, T, and Hoover, RN. Mortality Among Augmentation Mammoplasty Patients, Epidemiology 2001; 12: 321-326. Brinton, LA, Lubin, JH, Burich, MC, Colton, T, Brown, SL, and Hoover, RN. Cancer Risk at Sites Other Than the Breast Following Augmentation Mammoplasty. ls of Epidemiology 2001;11: 248-256. Aziz NM, Vasey FB, Leaverton PE, et al. Comparison of clinical status among women retaining or removing gel breast implants. Presented at the American College of Epidemiology, 1998.