FDA Alert: Breast Implants Linked to Skin Cancer Risk

US health officials have issued an alarming warning to those seeking cosmetic procedures about the cancer risks associated with breast implants.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously warned that breast implants can cause skin cancer as well as other immune system cancers.

In its updated safety alert released Wednesday, the FDA said the number of cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of skin cancer, in breast implant patients has nearly doubled since September 2022, from 10 case reports to 19. three deaths from this disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said cases of skin cancer in breast implant patients are rare, but admitted they don’t know why.

Cancers form in the scar tissue around the breast implant, also known as the capsule, after implantation.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is not usually fatal, but can be life-threatening. If left untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body.

If detected early, the survival rate is 99%, but once it spreads beyond the skin, the five-year survival rate drops to less than 50%.

In its alert, the FDA emphasized that squamous cell carcinoma is different from the previously reported risks of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a cancer already known to be caused by breast implants.

The FDA said healthcare providers should include “information about squamous cell carcinoma and various lymphomas in the breast implant capsule” in discussions with those who are considering breast implants or have already had a procedure.

The report added that all cases of cancer found in the breast implant capsule should be reported to the Food and Drug Administration.

The department reported that the majority of reported cases of squamous cell carcinoma included breast swelling and pain as symptoms. Other symptoms included lumps and discoloration of the skin.

In some cases, patients had breast implants up to 42 years before the development of the disease.

Breast implants are used to increase the size of the breast (augmentation) or to replace breast tissue that has been removed due to cancer, trauma, or abnormal development.

Doctors believe that the closed surface of the implants may cause some of the female immune systems to react, leading to cancer.

Source: Daily Mail