International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer
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This study aimed to determine whether cosmetic breast implants impair the early detection of breast cancer, and adversely influence survival. This analysis derives from a cohort of 24,558 women who received bilateral cosmetic breast implants, and 15,893 women who underwent other plastic surgery procedures at the same practices in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, between 1974 and 1989. Incident cancers and vital status through 1997 were determined by record linkage to the Canadian Cancer Registry and Canadian Mortality Database. ⋯ The delayed diagnosis in augmented women did not appear to influence the overall prognosis. Breast cancer-specific survival was similar in both groups (hazard ratio = 1.06; 95% confidence interval = 0.65-1.74). In conclusion, this study suggests that breast implants delay the detection of breast cancer, but there was no statistically significant difference in survival between the breast implant and other plastic surgery groups.