No long-term cancer risk seen from breast implants

NEW YORK Mar 16 (Reuters) Results of a study that followed women up to 30 years adds to evidence that silicone breast implants do not boost cancer risk.

The study, of nearly 2,800 Danish women who received breast implants between 1973 and 1995, found that these women actually had a lower risk of breast cancer than a group of similar but implant-free women. Also, the implants were not tied to other types of cancer, according to findings published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Women with breast implants did have a higher rate of non-melanoma skin cancers, the most common and least threatening forms of the disease. But it's possible that greater sun exposure explains that association, the study authors speculate.

''Our current results support the conclusions of recent expert review committees that silicone breast implants are not associated with an excess risk of breast or other cancers,'' write the researchers, led by Dr. Soren Friis of the Danish Cancer Society in Copenhagen.

Past research had indicated that, despite fears about the cancer-causing potential of silicone found in animal studies, silicone breast implants do not lead to cancer in some women.

But few studies had looked at breast cancer risk beyond the 15-year mark, or at the risk of tumors in sites other than the breast, according to Friis and his colleagues.

Women in their study were followed for up to 30 years after receiving breast implants, and overall, their risk of developing breast cancer was 30 percent lower than that of the 1,736 women in the comparison group.

The reason for the lower risk is unclear, according to the researchers.

It's possible, they speculate, that women who seek breast implants are generally at less risk of breast cancer; in past research, Friis's team found that compared with other women, those with implants tended to be thinner and have more pregnancies - a factor that has been linked to lower breast cancer risk.

The current study also found no evidence that women with breast implants were diagnosed with breast cancer any later than other women -- even though implants can interfere to some degree with the x-rays used in mammography screening.

Despite their encouraging result, the researchers advise that ''further studies of the effects of silicone breast implants on breast cancer detection and survival may be warranted.'' REUTERS PV VC0955