Cosmetic breast implants and breast cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Plastic Surgery

Background:

• Increasing prevalence of cosmetic breast implants in Norway.
• Need to compare breast cancer detection and tumor characteristics in women with and without implants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare breast cancer detection rates in women with and without cosmetic breast implants.
• To analyze histopathological characteristics of breast tumors in these two groups.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of data from BreastScreen Norway (1996-2016).
• Inclusion of 785,706 women, with 10,086 (1.3%) having implants.
• Calculation of incidence rate ratio (IRR) for breast cancer and comparison of tumor characteristics.

Main Results:

• Women with implants had a 30% lower incidence rate ratio for breast cancer (IRR 0.70; 95% CI 0.60-0.81).
• Detected tumors in women with implants were larger in diameter.
• A higher proportion of women with implants had axillary lymph node metastasis.

Conclusions:

• Women with breast implants show a reduced risk of breast cancer detection but present with more advanced disease.
• Mammogram interpretation may be challenging in women with implants, potentially delaying diagnosis.
• Informed consent regarding these risks is crucial before augmentation mammoplasty.