Health Canada to update breast implant safety review following cancer links

Health Canada will be updating its safety review of breast implants after it reported an increase in the amount of cases linked to a form of cancer.

As of 1 January 2019, Health Canada had received reports of 22 confirmed and 22 suspected Canadian cases of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

The news follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receiving an increase in reports of breast implants linked to the cancer, with nine deaths recorded.

In its initial safety review in 2017, Health Canada found that the rate of BIA-ALCL cases was low, with five confirmed Canadian cases of BIA-ALCL reported by Canadian manufacturers in the last 10 years. Increased awareness by healthcare professionals and the public about BIA-ALCL is believed to be the largest contributing factor to the increased reporting of cases to Health Canada.

It is expected that the updated safety review will be completed in spring 2019. Health Canada consulted with the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery during its initial review, and is again engaging with these associations during this updated review.

BIA-ALCL is not a cancer of the breast tissue and usually presents as an accumulation of fluid (known as seroma fluid) between the implant and the surrounding tissue. The cause of BIA-ALCL is unknown. BIA-ALCL occurs with both saline-filled and silicone gel-filled breast implants.