U.S. cases of a cancer linked to breast implants may be well more than double what the FDA previously estimated, says new research from Columbia University.
Breast anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), is a cancer linked to both smooth and textured saline or silicone breast implants; though textured implant cases are more common.
ALCL develops in and around the scar tissue capsule that forms around all breast implants once placed.
Columbia researchers looked at U.S. ALCL diagnoses from Jan 1, 2000 – Dec 31, 2018, and found its overall rate to be 8.1 cases per 100 million women per year.
Rates also increased over time, they found:
The 3.2 cases per 100M women from 2000-2005 jumped to 4.4 cases per from 2006-2011, and to 14.5 cases per from 2012-2018.
For the latest period, their findings suggest a rate of ALCL in women with breast implants 4.8X higher than the FDA’s previous estimate of 3 cases per 100M women.
The FDA first shared data on an implant-ALCL link in January 2011, and in 2020, it recommended an ALCL warning be added to all breast implant labeling.