Study claims 'textured' implants could cause breast cancer

Textured breast implants might cause a rare form of cancer that is not easy to treat, new study finds.

While previous research has linked breast implants to cancer, this study confirms that “textured" implants could be the culprit to this form of the deadly disease, according to a report by the Daily Mail. Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is the cancer researches warn is on the rise.

It was in the 1990s that textured implants became popular as it stays is place in the breast pocket more firmly. The 90s was also the time when the first case of BIA-ALCL was reported.

Researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine conducted the latest study on breast implant's link to cancer. 115 articles in connection with the disease were reviewed for the study.  The team investigated how the disease develops, how it is diagnosed, treated and what the risk factors for the patients are.

The results revealed one in 30,000 women with breast implants is affected by BIA-ALCL. They also found close to all those cases had an association to textured implants.

"We're seeing that this cancer is likely very underreported, and as more information on this type of cancer comes to light, the number of cases is likely to increase in the coming years," study researcher Professor Dino Ravnic told the Daily Mail.

The team did not find any case of BIA-ALCL before textured implants came into play, which is why they strongly believe there is a relationship between this implant and the disease. However, to confirm their findings further research is needed.

"In many of these cases the implant was removed without testing the surrounding fluid and tissue for lymphoma cells, so it's difficult to definitively correlate the two,"
Professor Ravnic explained.