Breast Augmentation and the Risk of Subsequent Breast Cancer

To the Editor: Berkel and colleagues (June 18 issue) 1 performed a population-based cohort-linkage study. A cohort of 11,676 women who underwent cosmetic breast augmentation was compared with the cohort of all 13,552 women in Alberta, Canada, in whom a first primary breast cancer was diagnosed. Breast cancer developed in 41 patients with implants, whereas the number expected on the basis of age-specific and calendar-year-specific incidence rates was 86.2. The authors conclude that women who undergo breast augmentation with silicone implants have a lower risk of breast cancer than the general population. The authors have not addressed the distribution of risk . . .