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Lumpectomy an option in cancer treatment for breast implant patients |
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Saturday, 16 September 2006 |
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New research indicates that greater options are now available for treating breast cancer in women with breast implants. Although the number of breast augmentation procedures has increased dramatically in recent years, the most likely option in treating breast cancer remained a mastectomy for women with implants.
Compared to the rest of the population, fewer women with breast implants die from cancer, a fact largely attributed to the fact that such patients have better opportunities for screening. However, for many women with implants, a regular mammogram won't necessarily detect a tumour. “Implants may make it a little more challenging to image the breast accurately,” Jefferson breast surgeon Dr. Kristen Brill said.
Brill added that in addition to making detection more challenging, the presence of breast implants would normally have required a mastectomy in the past. “There was probably some concern about proximity of the tumor to the implant capsule and (whether) the implant could be radiated successfully and still give a good cosmetic result,” Brill said.
But Brill says that's not necessarily the case any longer. A study conducted at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia found that even women with implants can opt for breast sparing surgery. “We were able to successfully do a lumpectomy with radiation with a good cosmetic result,” Brill said. Doctors warn, however, that lumpectomy isn't always an option. For women with breast implants, it depends on the location of the tumor in the breast and whether the cancer is detected early enough.
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