Breast Implants and Mammograms

Posting Date: 01/28/2004

Breast Implants Interfere with Mammograms

Description

Breast implants decrease the ability of mammography to detect breast cancer, according to a large national study led by researchers from Group Health Cooperative?s Center for Health Studies (CHS) and six other institutions that participate in the NIH-funded Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. This study is published in the January 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found that screening mammography missed 55 percent of breast cancers in women with implants, compared to only 33 percent among women without implants.

?With breast implants on the rise, it?s important to know whether implants interfere with the detection of breast cancer,? said Diana L. Miglioretti, PhD, an investigator at CHS and the lead author of the article. More than 260,000 women in the United States received breast implants for cosmetic reasons in 2002, an increase of 11 percent since 2000.

Breast implants make mammograms more difficult to read because the implants show up as a solid white mass on the mammography film, blocking the view of breast tissue, Miglioretti explained.

The researchers also found that although mammography does not find cancer as well in women with implants, this problem does not result in more advanced cancers at diagnosis. Women with implants were diagnosed with cancers of similar stage and size as women without implants. Even among women with implants who had breast symptoms such as a breast lump, the tumors were not more advanced. In fact, among the subset of women with symptoms, women with implants had smaller tumors than women without implants.

In addition, the study showed that breast implants do not cause more false-positive mammography results compared to women without implants.

The researchers suggested several possible reasons for finding little difference in tumor characteristics among women with implants and women without implants, despite the way implants interfere with mammography. It may be that women with implants detect cancer more easily than other women because they have less of their own breast tissue or because the implant provides a firm platform to press against, which may make the tumors more noticeable. Also, women with breast implants are told to check their breasts often for any problems, so they may be more likely to find lumps on their own. In addition, women with implants may be more body conscious and seek medical advice more quickly if they have a symptom. ?We really don?t know for certain,? said Miglioretti.

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