Breast implants slightly increase risk of breast ALCL

(HealthDay)—Breast implants are associated with an increased risk of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma in the breast (breast-ALCL), though the absolute risk is small, according to a study published online Jan. 4 in JAMA Oncology.

Mintsje de Boer, M.D., from the Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and colleagues used data from the nationwide Dutch pathology registry to identify all patients diagnosed with primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the breast between 1990 and 2016. In addition, clinical data, including breast implant status, were obtained from treating physicians. The authors used a case-control design to compare implant prevalence between women with breast-ALCL and those with other types of breast lymphoma.

The researchers found that 32 of the 43 patients with breast-ALCL (median age, 59 years) had ipsilateral breast implants, compared with one case among 146 women with other primary breast lymphomas (odds ratio, 421.8). Among breast-ALCL cases, implants were more often macrotextured (23 macrotextured of 28 total implants of known type; 82 percent) compared to what might be expected based on sales data (45 percent). The cumulative risks of breast-ALCL in women with implants were 29 per million at 50 years old and 82 per million at 70 years old. To cause one breast-ALCL case before age 75 years, the number of women with implants needed was 6,920.

"Our results emphasize the need for increased awareness among the public, medical professionals, and regulatory bodies; promotion of alternative cosmetic procedures; and alertness to signs and symptoms of breast-ALCL in women with implants," the authors write.