March 22 (UPI) -- A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration report has linked a rare form of cancer known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or ALCL, to a certain type of breast implant.
The FDA first identified a possible association between breast implants and the development of ALCL, a rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, in 2011.
Since 2011, the FDA in agreement with the World Health Organization, or WHO, designated breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or BIA-ALCL, as a rare T-cell lymphoma that can develop from breast implants.
BIA-ALCL is not breast cancer, but a type of lymphoma that develops around or near breast implants.
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As of Feb. 1, the FDA had received 359 medical device reports, or MDRs, of BIA-ALCL including nine deaths. Of the cases of BIA-ALCL, 231 reports involved the breast implant surface, with 203 reported being textured implants and 28 being smooth surface implants. Approximately 312 of the 359 reports pertained to implant fill types with 186 being filled with silicone gel and 126 filled with saline.
"All of the information to date suggests that women with breast implants have a very low but increased risk of developing ALCL compared to women who do not have breast implants," the FDA report states.
The FDA is not recommending existing breast implants be removed. The agency is telling health care providers to continue with routine care and monitoring, making sure patients get the recommended breast exams and mammograms.
An estimated 10 to 11 million women worldwide have breast implants, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
