Cosmetic breast implants do not seem to increase the risk of cancer, according to the results of a population-based study with more than 15 years of follow-up.

A slightly elevated risk of lung cancer was noted in implant recipients, but the researchers believe this simply reflects higher smoking rates in this group.

Studies have consistently supported the safety of breast implants from a cancer standpoint, but few of the studies involved follow-up beyond 15 years, note Dr. Joseph K. McLaughlin, from the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues.

“Our investigation provides data on the longest large-scale follow-up of women with cosmetic breast implants to date,” they point out.

The study, which is reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, involved 3486 Swedish women who had breast implants inserted between 1965 and 1993 and then were followed through 2002. The risk of cancer in this group was compared with that in the general population.

During an average follow-up period of 18.4 years, the breast cancer rate in the implant group was 30 percent lower than in the general population, the report indicates. The lung cancer rate was about double the normal figure, “which would be expected due to the much higher prevalence of smoking among the Swedish women with implants,” the researchers note.

Cosmetic breast implants were not associated with an elevated risk of other cancers - including brain cancer, a finding in one previous study.

SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, April 19, 2006.