AP version of Breast Implant Study

[Guest guest]

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 1:16 PM

Subject: Study: Breast Implants Cancer-Safe ~ AP version

> EXCERPT: " She said there were 33 lung cancers among the implant patients,

> compared to 13 among the other cosmetic surgery patients, but the

> connection of this cancer to implants is not clear. "

>

> Silica induced perhaps??? ilena

>

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> thanks Kathy Nye ...

>

> Study: Breast Implants Cancer-Safe By PAUL RECER .c The Associated Press

> WASHINGTON (AP) - Women who have had silicone breast implants do not

face

> an increased risk for most cancers, according to a National Cancer

> Institute study of 13,500 women who had implant surgery for cosmetic

> reasons. ``The findings are generally reassuring,'' said Dr. Louise A.

> Brinton, an NCI researcher and lead author of the study. ``This does not

> raise a red flag. It helps lay to rest much of the concern'' about

> silicone breast implants. The study, published in the ls of

> Epidemiology, compared the incidence of cancer between women who had

> received cosmetic breast implants and 4,000 other women of similar age

who

> had received other types of plastic surgery. Health histories for the

> patients covered an average of 13 years, much longer than most of the

> earlier breast implant health studies, said Brinton. Early studies had

> shown that a comparison between breast implant patients and those

> receiving other cosmetic surgery was the best way to determine the

> specific effects of the silicon implants, she said. Incidence rates for

> ``nearly every cancer'' were not elevated among the implant patients,

> Brinton said. This included cancers of the mouth, stomach, large

> intestine, breast, cervix, uterus, ovary, bladder, thyroid, connective

> tissues and immune system. Brinton said there were slightly elevated

> rates of cancer for the respiratory system and brain, but she said there

> is no clear connection between these cancers and the silicon implants.

> Only the difference in respiratory cancer rates reached ``statistical

> significance,'' said Brinton, principally because of lung cancers. She

> said there were 33 lung cancers among the implant patients, compared to

13

> among the other cosmetic surgery patients, but the connection of this

> cancer to implants is not clear. Brinton said the cause of death for

> these patients was obtained from death certificates and it was not

> possible to determine the smoking habits of the deceased. Smoking is

known

> to be the leading cause of lung cancer. ``We could not rule out smoking

> as a factor'' in the lung cancer deaths, said Brinton. Between 1.5 and

2

> million women have received breast implants since 1962, about 80 percent

> for cosmetic reasons and the rest as breast reconstruction after cancer.

> The study did not include women who had received implants following

breast

> cancer. The study follows an earlier study that found no increased risk

> for breast cancer among patients who received implants. Further analysis

> of the study data will evaluate risks linked to other causes of death and

> to the risk of connective tissue disorders among implant patients. On

> the Web: National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov

>

>