Silicone breast implants may increase the risk of developing a rare breast cancer called anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma (ALCL), according to a case-control study published in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Scientists from The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam found that women who had received bilateral silicone breast implants were much more likely to develop ALCL than women had not, although the risk is still very small. However, these findings are preliminary and not sufficient to conclude that breast implants increase the risk of ALCL.

Further investigation of breast implant-related cancers is needed, but perhaps this information should be considered as a possible long-term consequence of cosmetic breast augmentation.