A frequent question about breast augmentation is whether there is a link between breast implants and cancer. Given that there has never been shown to be any relationship between getting breast implants and developing breast cancer, the more relevant question is whether the implants hinder the ability to detect breast cancer. Giving the occurrence of breast cancer in women this is a really relevant question.
Numerous reports have shown that women with breast implants may be more susceptible to picking up some breast cancers earlier. One reason is that they are often more in tune with their own breasts and may do more frequent ‘implant massage’, thus inadvertently performing frequent self-exams. The implant actually may pick up cancers earlier by acting as a “platform” for a developing breast mass that makes it easier to feel from the outside. There is no question that many plastic surgeons feel that their breast augmentation patients have a better sense of their breasts than many women who don’t have implants.
This is illustrated in the November 4th issue of Plastic Surgery News where a story borrowed from the Irish Examiner entitled ‘My Breast Implants Saved My Life’ was highlighted. A 32 year-old mother of three bumped one of her implants on a door frame which helped her to discover she had breast cancer. On feeling her bumped breast she noticed a small pea-sized lump. On subsequent medical evaluations she discovered she had cancer which resulted in a lumpectomy and the need for radiation and chemotherapy. Now cancer-free, she stated that she never checked her breasts because she was so young and that breast cancer was something that affected older women. Without breast implants she may never have discovered the cancer until it was much bigger and could have spread by then.
While this story speaks to the platform concept of breast implants, there is no question that implants do impose some impairment of the reading of mammograms. Radiologists know this well which is why they perform extra mammographic images called Eklund views on women with breast implants. But this negative visualization effect is significantly less when the implants are placed under the muscle as opposed to on top of it. Other implant-related issues that have some restrictive effect on breast cancer detection is size of the implant and whether there is any capsular contracture associated with them. Other breast imaging tools, such as ultrasound and MRIs, get around the imaging limitations of mammography.
The conclusion is that breast implants have a mild limiting effect on detecting breast cancer. For some women that may be overcome with the breast implant acting as a platform or the thinning of the breast tissues from the pressure of the implants making cancerous lesions easier to detect. But vigilance through self-exams and regular mammograms is just as important as in women without breast implants.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana