January 11, 2018 — A new study has found that silicone breast implants with a textured surface are 400-times more likely to cause a rare type of cancer compared to silicone breast implants with a smooth surface.
The study was published in the medical journal JAMA Oncology on January 4 by researchers in the Netherlands.
The researchers discovered that textured breast implants are linked to a 400-fold increased risk of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL), a rare type of breast cancer in which cancerous cells grow in the fluid that accumulates around the breast implant.
The conclusions were based on data from a registry in the Netherlands between 1990 and 2016 that identified all patients diagnosed with ALCL (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) of the breast.
There were 43 patients with breast-ALCL. Of those patients, 32 had breast implants and 82% had textured silicone breast implants, even though textured implants were far less common than smooth implants.
The researchers caution that the overall risk of ALCL is low, but still significantly higher for women who have breast implants.
For the general population, only 0.35 women per million will develop ALCL of the breast. For women with breast implants, 82 women per million will develop ALCL by the age of 70.
“We now confirm that implants strongly increase the risk of this rare type of lymphoma. Our relative risk estimate of over 400, implying an attributable risk approaching 100%, is highly suggestive of a direct or indirect causal role of the breast implant in breast implant-associated ALCL.”
The study adds strong evidence that breast implants can cause ALCL, possibly as a result of a chronic inflammatory reaction to bacteria embedded in the textured surface. In 2017, the FDA reported 359 cases of breast implant lymphoma worldwide, including 9 deaths.
Lawyers in the United States are also reviewing lawsuits involving women who were diagnosed with ALCL or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the tissue surrounding the breast.
Do I have a Breast Implant Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting breast implant induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with lymphoma or ALCL of the breast, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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