Silicone gel-filled breast implants trigger rare type of cancer

Both saline and silicone gel-filled breast implants may be linked to a rare type of cancer, according to federal researchers.

The Food and Drug Administration warned that the implants may be associated with anaplastic large cell lymphoma in the scar tissue next to the implant.

The FDA calls the risk "very small but significant" in a statement, according to Gant Daily.

According to the National Cancer Institute, ALCL appears in different parts of the body including the lymph nodes and skin. Each year ALCL is diagnosed in about 1 out of 500,000 women in the United States. Primary breast ALCL is found in only about 3 out of every 100 million women nationwide without breast implants.

Data reviewed by the FDA suggest that patients with breast implants may have a very small but significant risk of ALCL in the scar capsule adjacent to the implant, eMaxHealth reports.