British Medical Journal Publishes Life-Saving Article BIA-ALCL
This month, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a life-saving article for patients and doctors on Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA ALCL), the most common cancer caused by breast implants.
The article includes some of the most recent data on the disease, including data in Table 1 showing that the risk in patients exposed to Allergan’s Biocell implants may be as high as 1 in 124.
The article also challenges the false narrative that the disease is always obvious or easy to diagnose. By zeroing in on this topic, the article increases the odds that doctors and patients will identify the disease at its earliest and most curable stage and will treat it appropriately.
For example, the subsection “How do patients present?” and figure 1 both stress the obvious, subtle, and varied ways the disease manifests in patients. The article also acknowledges that fluid testing is not 100% reliable and that appropriate referrals and/or follow up are indicated even in the presence of a negative fluid test.
On the topic of minimizing the risk of harm, the article recognizes data by Dr. Fabio Santanelli which shows that implant exchange may reduce the risk of being diagnosed with BIA-ALCL. Unfortunately, his data is not entirely clear on whether removing the implant versus removing the implant and capsule is what contributes to the potential risk reduction.
Finally, we are thrilled to highlight that Roxane Vermeland, a BIA-ALCL stage IV survivor, is a coauthor of the article. Also, BISA’s Director of BIA-ALCL Advocacy, Jennifer Cook, was an external patient reviewer. Jennifer Cook stated, “The BMJ should be praised for embracing the value patients bring to educating on a disease they lived firsthand.”
Read the full article here.
RESOURCE
BMJ: Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma in People with Breast Implants