Additional Cancers Linked to Breast Implants

 The FDA issued a safety communication that cancer cases, including squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and other lymphomas, have been linked to scar tissue around breast implants.

The pathology of these cases differs than that of anaplastic large lymphomas linked to breast implants a decade ago.

A preliminary review of published literature found fewer than 20 cases of SCC and fewer than 30 cases of various lymphomas in the scar tissue around the implant.

Women who have had implants should be aware of symptoms of cancer, which include swelling, pain, lumps or skin changes, the FDA said, noting that some cases emerged years after women received their implants. The SCC cases were linked to both textured and smooth implants, and saline and silicone implants.

No need to print mammograms on films; FDA

An FDA communiqué to mammography facilities “said that printing breast images to hard-copy film is no longer necessary and can be performed at the discretion of individual centers”. 

Over the past 20 years, there has been significant evolution in mammography, with the shift from screen-film to digital imaging being the most prominent change.

A total of 39 million procedures were performed in the 8,737 mammographic facilities that were accredited by the FDA as of Nov 1, 2015.   Today fewer than 350 screen-film units remain in use in the U.S. The nearly universal availability of computers for viewing of digital images diminishes the need for a facility to maintain a printer.

Today, with many mammograms shared on computer media such as compact discs or via online access, the provision of printed hard copies is becoming obsolete.