Do Breast Implants Cause Lung and Brain Cancer?
Two new studies have raised fears that breast implants may cause lung or brain cancer. But the study results in those two instances were likely the result of chance and mask another interesting, but also likely chance, finding — women with breast implants had lower death rates over all than the general female population.
National Cancer INstitute epidemiologist Louise Brinton was the lead author on both studies. In the first study she found that women with breast implants had a higher rate of lung cancer than a control group of women who had undergone plastic surgery other than breast implants. However, the women who had received breast implants still had a lower rate of lung cancer than the general population of women. Given that result, the most likely explanation is that the control group of women who had plastic surgeries other than implants has an extremely low risk of lung cancer for some reason (one possible explanation is that women who have plastic surgery in general might be less likely to smoke).
The second study found that women who had implants had almost twice the risk of contracting brain cancer than the general population. One of the problems with this finding, however, is that it must have been based on extremely small number of cases. The current incidence rate for brain cancer is about 13 per 100,000. Brinton’s breast implant recipient group was slightly under 13,500 women, so she should have seen approximately 1.8 cases of brain cancer. If, instead, there were 4 cases — twice the risk level of the general population — that would be a pretty slim basis on which to make any conclusions. Which is why Brinton herself notes that little can be determined about implants from this one study.
Source:
Studies suggest a link between breast implants and cancer. Rita Rubin, USA Today, April 25, 2001.
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