BRCA Mutations Linked to Breast Implant Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma

WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For women with breast cancer (BC), BRCA mutations are associated with increased risk of developing breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), according to a study published online June 12 in Blood Advances.

Paola Ghione, M.D., from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues examined the risk of BIA-ALCL occurrence related to BRCA in a large population of women with textured implants followed after BC mastectomy. The prevalence of BRCA1/2 was compared between BC patients who did and did not develop BIA-ALCL after reconstruction with textured implants. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios for developing BIA-ALCL. In addition, a case–control study was conducted involving 13 cases with BIA-ALCL and 39 controls.

The researchers found that the age-adjusted rate of developing BIA-ALCL was 16 times higher for women with versus without BRCA among 520 patients with BC tested for BRCA. No associations were seen for carrying bilateral implants, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy with BIA-ALCL. A complete enumeration of Bernoulli probability was used to rule out a nonassociation of BRCA with BIA-ALCL in the case–control study.

“If we look at the absolute numbers [seen in this study], it”s still fairly rare, but the important thing to note is that when we look at women with this genetic predisposition, there is a big jump in the percentage with this lymphoma,” Ghione said in a statement.

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