Breast cancer survivors have an increased risk of breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), but the absolute risk is “extremely low,” according to researchers. They reported these findings in JAMA Network Open.

The researchers evaluated 56,784 patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer during 2000-2018 and underwent mastectomy with implant reconstruction. Patients were enrolled in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 17 database.

Most patients (72%) had invasive breast cancer, and 18% had ductal carcinoma in situ. Most patients (84%) were White, 8% were Black, and 7% were Asian or Pacific Islander. The median age range was 50-54 years.

With a median follow-up of 81 months, 5 cases of implant-associated ALCL were diagnosed. The observed incidence was 11.9 per million persons per year, which is significantly higher than the expected incidence of 0.3 per million persons per year (standardized incidence ratio, 40.9; 95% CI, 13.3-95.5).

These data indicate that, although the relative risk of implant-associated ALCL is significantly increased in this patient population, the absolute risk is “extremely low,” the researchers wrote. They added, however, that the “risk of ALCL will likely increase with longer follow-up, as the incidence rate is rapidly increasing in the US.”

Breast Cancer Survivors Have Increased Risk of Implant-Associated ALCL

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