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Breast reconstruction with implants after mastectomy doesn't hurt survival chances in breast cancer patients
December 20, 2004Breast implants after mastectomy to treat breast cancer do not reduce the long-term survival of patients, reveals the first study on the long-term effects of breast implants, published today in Breast Cancer Research.
Previous studies have shown that breast implants do not have adverse health effects for cancer patients in the short term, but no representative study has addressed the question in the long term.
Gem Le from the Northern California Cancer Centre and colleagues analysed data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Breast Implants Surveillance Study, carried out in Iowa, the San Francisco area and the Seattle area.
Information from more than 4,000 women under age 65 and diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer was collected during the study. All of the women had been treated with mastectomy and followed over a period of about 12 years after their cancer diagnosis.
The analysis revealed that, out of the 21% of women who had had an implant after mastectomy for breast cancer, there was a 12.4% mortality rate due to breast cancer, compared with 19.7% in women without an implant. The women who had an implant were more likely to be younger and of non-Hispanic white ethnicity than women who had no implant. After adjusting for these and other clinical and sociodemographic factors in their analysis, the authors concluded that breast cancer mortality in patients with breast implants is about half that of patients without implants.
"Certainly, further research is needed to explain this survival differential in women with breast implants and those without, by examining potentially explanatory factors such as socioeconomic status, comorbidity, smoking, or other lifestyle factors," the authors wrote.
Breast implants may boost the morale and self-esteem of breast cancer patients, which could improve survival. Implants might have other indirect consequences, such as leading to better medical care and follow-up of women with implants. Studies have suggested that breast implants may also stimulate the immune system and reduce blood flow to the breast, thereby impairing cell and tumour growth.
BioMed Central Limited
Information from more than 4,000 women under age 65 and diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer was collected during the study. All of the women had been treated with mastectomy and followed over a period of about 12 years after their cancer diagnosis.
The analysis revealed that, out of the 21% of women who had had an implant after mastectomy for breast cancer, there was a 12.4% mortality rate due to breast cancer, compared with 19.7% in women without an implant. The women who had an implant were more likely to be younger and of non-Hispanic white ethnicity than women who had no implant. After adjusting for these and other clinical and sociodemographic factors in their analysis, the authors concluded that breast cancer mortality in patients with breast implants is about half that of patients without implants.
"Certainly, further research is needed to explain this survival differential in women with breast implants and those without, by examining potentially explanatory factors such as socioeconomic status, comorbidity, smoking, or other lifestyle factors," the authors wrote.
Breast implants may boost the morale and self-esteem of breast cancer patients, which could improve survival. Implants might have other indirect consequences, such as leading to better medical care and follow-up of women with implants. Studies have suggested that breast implants may also stimulate the immune system and reduce blood flow to the breast, thereby impairing cell and tumour growth.
BioMed Central Limited
Breast Cancer Current Events and Breast Cancer News RSSUCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells
Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor.
Fertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women
A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that breast cancer patients under 40 years old who undergo fertility preservation do not face a significant delay in the treatment of their disease when their care is coordinated in a timely fashion.
Coffee break: Compound brewing new research in colon, breast cancer
A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists.
Drugs to treat anemia in cancer patients linked to thromboembolism
Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
Discovery in worms by Queen's researchers points to more targeted cancer treatment
Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. The groundbreaking discovery provides a foundation for how tumor-forming genes interact, and may offer a drug target for cancer treatment.
FDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells
The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found.
Carnegie Mellon researchers link health-care debate to risk of dying in US and Europe
The current health care debate in the United States is complicated. Trade-offs between heath care expenditures, lifestyle choices and life expectancy have been suggested but seldom clearly demonstrated.
Scientists uncover new key to the puzzle of hormone therapy and breast cancer
The use of postmenopausal hormone therapy has decreased over time in the United States, which researchers suggest may play a key role in the declining rate of atypical ductal hyperplasia, a known risk factor for breast cancer.
Breast density associated with increased risk of cancer recurrence
A new study finds that women treated for breast cancer are at higher risk of cancer recurrence if they have dense breasts. Published in the December 15, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study's results indicate that breast cancer patients with dense breasts may benefit from additional therapies following surgery, such as radiation.
Researcher: 'Optical biopsy' for breast cancer increasingly accurate
But women may not have to endure the medical costs, stress and potential complications that accompany such invasive biopsies forever. A University of Florida biomedical engineering researcher is making progress on an "optical biopsy" that has the potential to determine whether growths are cancerous without ever puncturing the skin.
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