Breast implants are once again at the centre of a safety scare after health watchdogs said there was a ‘clear link’ between them and cancer.
The warning was issued by the French medicines regulatory agency, which has given manufacturers 12 months to prove their products are safe or face having them banned.
British plastic surgeons urged women to be vigilant for signs of the disease and the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said it was analysing the French data.
However, the British agency stressed that the link with cancer has not been confirmed.
The alert also raises concerns about the regulation of the multi-billion-pound cosmetic surgery industry, which is still reeling from a scandal in which one type of implant made by the French firm PIP was found to be filled with industrial-grade silicone meant for use in mattresses.
The latest fears apply to implants more generally and surround a blood cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).
It occurs when diseased white blood cells multiply rapidly, building up in the neck, armpit or groin. The cancer grows quickly and, while it is often easily treated with chemotherapy, it can kill.
There are fears that it can be triggered by bugs that cling to implants, meaning that women who have had breast enlargement surgery are at higher risk of it than usual. It usually develops after women have had the implants for several years, with the main symptom a painless swelling of the breast.
There have been an estimated 250 cases in women with breast implants worldwide and eight deaths. While admitting occurrences of the illness are rare, France’s National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety said there is a ‘clear link’ with implants and called for more research and better warnings.
Britain’s watchdog the MHRA said: ‘We are currently analysing the [French] findings but it is important to state that we do not see the same trend in the UK.
‘Anaplastic large cell lymphoma is a very rare tumour in the breast, which is believed to have an incidence of between one in 300,000 and one in a million.
Rajiv Grover, past president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said it is important women are made aware of the link, but ‘normal’ breast cancer is 40,000 times more common.
The surging demand for breast implants is among factors leading to a boom in the UK’s plastic surgery market. According to the BAAPS, the value of the industry grew from £720million in 2005 to £2.3billion by 2010, the latest for which figures are available.
The number of breast implants was 17,000 in 2006, compared with an expected 29,000 this year.
Daily Mail