Missed cancers and breast implants

Breast implants make mammograms more difficult to read, but they don’t lead to more "false positive" test results, according to a study published in the Jan. 28 Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, found that mammograms missed 55 percent of breast cancers in women with implants.

Mammograms missed 37 percent of cancers among women without implants.

Interestingly, the researchers found that the problem did not result in more advanced cancers at diagnosis in the women with breast implants.

Implants show up as white mass on mammography film and block the view of breast tissue. A technique called implant displacement views can be used to get a better look.

Women with implants should inform their doctors and mammography technicians about their breast augmentation, the researchers advised.

Read the abstract.