Silicone Implants Don't Raise Risk for Breast Cancer (but they do have more lung cancer)

[Guest guest]

The PR machine is up and running!

" Dow Corning, a manufacturer of breast implants, paid

for the study " . . . Rogene

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Silicone Implants Don't Raise Risk for Breast Cancer

By Randy Dotinga

HealthDay Reporter

Tue Apr 18, 7:08 PM ET

TUESDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Adding a new

twist to the debate over the safety of silicone breast

implants, a large Swedish study has found no evidence

the implants raise women's risk of breast cancer.

The industry-funded study, which followed nearly 3,500

women for as long as 37 years, is notable because of

its size and its longevity.

" Women with silicone breast implants should feel

reassured, " said study author ph McLaughlin,

president of the International Epidemiology Institute,

in Rockville, Md.

Silicone breast implants, long the focus of

controversy, were banned in the United States in 1992

for cosmetic purposes, with some exceptions, amid

concerns that leaks could cause a variety of diseases,

including immune system disorders, arthritis, lupus

and cancer. Tens of thousands of women filed suit

against the implant manufacturers, which paid out

billions in claims.

The debate has continued, with some studies finding no

evidence that leakage from the implants causes

systemic disease. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration has been moving toward allowing

silicone implants back on the market as an alternative

to saline implants, which doctors say aren't always

ideal. Some U.S. politicians and women's groups have

expressed dismay that the government might allow use

of silicone implants again.

In the new study, American researchers examined a

Swedish database of 3,486 women who received breast

implants for cosmetic reasons between 1965 and 1993.

The study followed the women until the end of 2002, an

average of 18.4 years after they received the

implants.

The findings appear in the April 19 issue of the

Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Only 53 of the women developed breast cancer, compared

to 71.9 cases that would have been expected in the

general population. There were 180 total cancers in

women with the breast implants, slightly fewer than

the 193.1 that would have been expected.

The researchers speculated that the women had fewer

cases of breast cancer because they're thinner, had

more children and had their first children at a

younger age, on average. (Excess weight, childlessness

and older age at first birth all raise the risk of

breast cancer.)

The women who received breast implants were more

likely to develop lung cancer than other women: 20

developed it, compared to the 9.1 that would have been

expected to have it. The researchers think this is

because the Swedish women with implants were more

likely to smoke.

Dow Corning, a manufacturer of breast implants, paid

for the study. But McLaughlin said the study authors

had " complete intellectual freedom. "

However, one expert questioned the connection.

" They have this financial vested interest, which we

all know can influence things, " said Zuckerman,

president of the National Research Center for Women

and Families. " They're trying to put this to rest and

say, 'See we knew it, this product is perfectly

safe.' "

" The jury is still out " on the safety of breast

implants, said Zuckerman, pointing to a new federally

funded study that found that women with breast

implants have a higher rate of suicide. She added that

it's not entirely clear that smoking explains the

higher rate of lung cancer in implant patients.

Dr. Roxanne Guy, president-elect of the American

Society of Plastic Surgeons, said she expects the FDA

to make a final decision about the sale of silicone

breast implants later this year.

In some cases, silicone implants are a better option

than saline implants, especially if breast tissue is

thin and can't support the saline implant as

effectively, she said. " There are many patients in

which nothing is going to work as well as a silicone

implant. "

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more on

breast implants.