Breast implant-lymphoma connection debated

Although breast implants are without a doubt the most extensively studied medical devices on the market and are widely regarded as safe, a new report is raising questions about a possible connection between implants and a rare form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma called ALCL. Dr. Garry Brody, a Professor Emeritus of plastic surgery at USC, has been collecting a database about these rare cases, now totaling 25. Importantly, the tumor occurs in the scar capsule around the implants, not in the breast, and appears to be associated with a specific type of textured implant surface. A more important distinction is that these tumors behave in a very benign fashion and are highly curable by surgical removal of the capsule. This suggests that they are actually something other than ALCL despite the fact that they have all of the features of it under microscopic examination.
Although any report of cancer and breast implants is likely to be sensationalized, a cautious approach would be prudent in interpreting this story. In addition to the unanswered question of whether or not this is really a cancer, the incidence among women with implants appears to be in the range of one in a million, which could only be characterized as extremely rare. There will likely be other reports coming forth as the story is publicized, but given the number of women worldwide with implants, it is likely to remain a rarity. So in the good news column, place the fact that it is highly curable, and if it does have a causative link, it is to a type of implant that is less frequently used now (I have been using exclusively smooth-surface implants for augmentation for 15 years.) To keep this in perspective, it is the drive to the plastic surgeon's office that is the most dangerous part of breast implant surgery, not the implants.