Cancer Risk Among Women With Cosmetic Breast Implants: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Sweden

Concerns about cancer risk after implantation of silicone devices in the human body have resulted from reports of sarcomas in silicone-exposed experimental animals and case reports of breast and other cancers in women with breast implants (1). Epidemiologic data during the past few years, however, have shown no generalized increase of cancer (1). In fact, the most consistent pattern observed from the investigations conducted to date has been a decreased risk of breast cancer (1, 2). To further evaluate the occurrence of cancers of the breast and other organs, we present findings from a large national systematic follow-up of women in Sweden who received cosmetic breast implants. This study includes a considerable increase in the number of patients and extends the follow-up time of our earlier report (3). Table 1 shows characteristics of women in the cohort who received breast implants. There were 3473 women with implants enrolled in the follow-up. As indicated in the table, the women in the cohort tended to be young (median age at cosmetic breast implant surgery was 30 years). The average duration of follow-up was 10 years, with a maximum follow-up of 29 years and a median follow-up of 9 years.