The Food and Drug Administration reports that a rare cancer first linked to breast implants in 2011 has now been linked to nine (9) deaths.
As of Feb. 1, the FDA had received a total of 359 reports of the cancer associated with the implants.
The deaths were not caused by breast cancer, the FDA said, but by a rare malignancy in the immune system known as anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.
In cases linked to implants, this rare form of cancer grows in the breast, usually in the capsule of scar tissue that forms around an implant. It is often treatable and is not necessarily fatal.
Interestingly, the problem has been linked to occur with the textured implants, which have a rough, rocky surface, rather than with smooth implants, the FDA said.
Of the 359 reported cases, 231 included information about the implant surface: 203 were textured, and 28 smooth.
Stay tuned as this brand new concern and risk will continue to garner the focus and attention it deserves.
