Implant Cancer Risk No Higher, Study Reports

Researchers at USC on Monday reported findings that conclude silicone gel breast implants do not increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

The study of 3,112 implant patients in Los Angeles County found breast cancer rates similar to those in the general population. Most of the patients received their implants more than 10 years ago.

“I would hope that women with cosmetic breast implants would feel reassured” that they are not at increased risk of breast cancer, said Dennis M. Deapen, assistant professor of preventive medicine at USC and principal author of the study.

Deapen acknowledged, however, that the major safety concern about breast implants in recent years has been the possibility that they increase the frequency of arthritis, lupus and other connective tissue disorders, not breast cancer.

The new USC study--funded by the federal government and four companies that manufacture breast implants--was made available Monday. It will be published in the April issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. In 1986, the USC researchers reported similar findings, based on five years of follow-up.