Silicone breast implants pose no cancer risk, NCI study states

WASHINGTON (April 30)—Women with silicone breast implants don't have higher rates for most cancers than other women, a study from the National Cancer Institute has concluded. The report, which was published in the "Annals of Immunology," compared the cancer rates of 13,500 women who had silicone implants for cosmetic reasons vs. those of 4,000 women who had other types of plastic surgery. Women who had the implants had a normal incidence of cancers of the breast, connective tissues, immune system and every other organ except the lungs, and smoking could not be ruled out as the cause in those cases, the NCI said in a news release. The Food and Drug Administration severely restricted patient access to silicone implants in April 1992, after preliminary reports linking silicone exposure with diseases of the breast, immune system and connective tissue. Hundreds of thousands of lawsuits were filed, causing Dow Corning Corp., the developer of the implants, to file for Chapter 11 reorganization.