Anaplastic large cell lymphoma and breast implants: five Australian cases

Abstract

Background: There has never been a convincing association between breast implants and breast malignancy. A total of 42 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the breast associated with implant capsules have been reported. The majority of the patients have anaplastic large cell lymphoma of T-cell origin. These lymphoma types have less frequently been observed in women without implants.

Methods: The senior author (H.R.W.) diagnosed and treated two women with anaplastic large cell lymphoma in a short period of time. After this, the authors were contacted by other surgeons in Australia who had treated similar cases.

Results: The authors report five new cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma associated with breast implants. There is an apparent spectrum of disease, with some cases pursuing an aggressive clinical course, although most have experienced a good prognosis. Both saline and silicone implants are implicated. All implant shells were textured.

Conclusions: Textured surface implants only became widely used in the 1990s and therefore were not significantly represented in the large cohort studies of breast implant safety undertaken in the early 1990s. The diagnosis of anaplastic large cell lymphoma in the breast needs to be considered in patients, particularly those presenting with a periprosthetic seroma 6 months or more after breast implant insertion.

Clinical question/level of evidence: Risk, V.