Breast Cancer Study Focuses on Women With Breast Implants

THURSDAY, July 27 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients with breast implants have the option of breast conservation, rather than full mastectomy, a new study finds.

The study included 12 women with breast implants who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Doctors performed MRI on five of the patients in order to provide further evaluation and identify the extent of the cancer.

Of the five patients who had an MRI, four were treated with breast-conservation therapy, while the remaining patient underwent mastectomy.

Of the seven patients who did not have an MRI, five were treated with mastectomy and two with breast conserving surgeries.

Of the six patients in the study who had breast conserving treatments, all retained an overall satisfactory appearance and didn't require implant removal or breast reconstruction, the study said.

"Options provided to augmented patients suffering from breast cancer are limited as compared to the general population, with most augmented patients receiving modified radical mastectomy," researcher Dr. Anne Rosenberg, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, noted in a prepared statement.

The study was published in the July issue of the The Breast Journal.