Breast implants linked to cancer
|Published
File photo File photo
Breast implants given to 50 000 women a year have been linked to a rare form of cancer.
Health authorities in France have announced that they are to review the use of “textured” breast implants, the type used in 99% of UK breast ops.
But the silicone implants - used in reconstructions for women who have had mastectomies after breast cancer as well as for cosmetic enlargements - are still being given with no warning about any potential dangers.
It comes as an investigation found 57 reports of cancer linked to implants in Britain reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority since the start of 2015.
There have been 1 200 other serious incidents linked to the implants, a quarter of which involved a leak and a third “material separation” in which the implant became damaged or ruptured.
Experts stress the incidences of the cancer - a type called anaplastic large cell lymphoma which affects the immune system - are extremely low.
Estimates of the chances of being affected after receiving a breast implant vary between one in 24 000 and one in 3 500.
But concerns are serious enough for France to advise doctors to stop using textured implants until the review is completed in February, and instead turn to the less used “smooth” version.
The latest scare comes seven years after leaking “PIP” implants caused a major health crisis when they began to rupture because they had been made with unapproved silicone gel.
Authorities have been highly cautious about breast implants since.