'Breast implants raise cancer death risk'

Hi girls,
i saw this article on sky news today, and copied it from their website,
Women who have breast implants and go on to develop breast cancer
have a greater risk of dying from the disease than those without, a new study of
12 women suggests.
Researchers say that patients with cosmetic implants have a 38% higher risk
of dying from breast cancer than women who do not have implants.
The small study, published on the British Medical Journal's website, also found
that women with implants could be diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage
than those without.
Previous research has suggested that implants can make it more difficult to
detect cancer at an early stage because they can create shadows on mammograms
that obscure breast tissue.
The authors, based in Canada, examined data from 12 studies relating to the
stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed in patients with and without breast
augmentation.
They found that women with cosmetic breast implants had a 26% increased risk
of being diagnosed at a later stage of cancer than women without implants.
They also looked at a further five studies and found that women with implants
had a 38% greater risk of death from breast cancer.

Breasts implants can make the early detection of cancer
difficult

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Women who have breast implants and go on to develop breast cancer
have a greater risk of dying from the disease than those without, a new study of
12 women suggests.

Researchers say that patients with cosmetic implants have a 38% higher risk
of dying from breast cancer than women who do not have implants.

The small study, published on the British Medical Journal's website, also found
that women with implants could be diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage
than those without.

Previous research has suggested that implants can make it more difficult to
detect cancer at an early stage because they can create shadows on mammograms
that obscure breast tissue.

The authors, based in Canada, examined data from 12 studies relating to the
stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed in patients with and without breast
augmentation.

They found that women with cosmetic breast implants had a 26% increased risk
of being diagnosed at a later stage of cancer than women without implants.

They also looked at a further five studies and found that women with implants
had a 38% greater risk of death from breast cancer.
Researchers stressed the study was too small
to be conclusive
However, the authors stressed that the findings should be treated with
caution because some of the studies did not adjust for other variables.

They called for further investigations into the long-term health effects of
breast implants.

A statement released by the authors said: "The results show a higher risk of
breast cancer-specific mortality among women with breast cancer who have
implants compared with women with breast cancer without implants.

"Nevertheless, the overall estimate should still be interpreted with caution
because this meta-analysis included a relatively small number of studies."

Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons,
said: "As the authors themselves conclude, the results of this statistical
analysis of previously published papers should be treated with caution.

"The study only demonstrates an association of reduced survival rate from
non-localised (advanced) breast cancer in women with breast implants rather than
a cause.

"Further studies are required to see if other forms of breast scanning, such
as MRI, could be preferable to mammography in women who have breast implants."


I hate these type of storys because they have such a bold title to scare us and then say... but its not 100% accurate!!

12 women ???Hardly a huge study. I am with you ,I hate these type of scare stories. If we all worried about the risk of every thing we would all be sitting indoors cowering in a corner to scared to go out in case we got run over, hit by a meteor , trampled by a horse, the list is endless ! I xx

I know! 12 women like you say isn't many at all.
For me someone whos Pre ba, i could just as easily not go ahead and still get BC anyway but just another example of a horrible story! x

First of all, as you've said girls a study with 12 cases can hardly be of any statistical significance. Secondly without knowing the ins and outs of the study is very difficult to quantify the percentages given here. But for the study to be fair there should be half BA and half non BA ladies participating, which brings the number down to 6. So out of the 6 BA ladies they've tested 2 (38%) had a higher risk of death and 1.5 (26%) greater risk of being diagnosed at a later stage. Again without knowing much about the study it's hard to ascertain where there are any other factors to contribute to this huge (as if!) statistical difference but basing a test on 6 cases it not good enough.
I didn't really need to go round in circles just to say that until they've done a study on a larger sample I'd say they wasted their time with this one

12 girls for a case study? It just sounds like scare mongering to me!! Whatever will be will be, as 2nd time lucky says, we could get hit by a meteor or get run over by a bus, so we have to do what is best for us, and take anything that is thrown at us along the way x