Guest guest Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Breast Implant Cancer Risks Dow Corning Silicone Gel implants increase cancer risks. http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/procedures/implants.htm jump to links In a routine, August 1987 inspection, the Food and Drug Administration discovered the previously unreported results of a Dow Corning carcinogenicity test on the silicone gel used in its implants. Injection under the skin of rats induced a high incidence of malignant tumors. While Dow attempted to trivialize these findings by claiming that these cancers were non-specific " solid state tumors, " this claim was dismissed by an FDA task force on grounds that these cancers were highly lethal, invaded distant organs and showed no variation in the incidence between male and female rates. On the basis of these findings, a senior task-force scientist urged that a medical alert be issued to warn the public of the possibility of malignancy developing in humans following long-term implants or silicone breast prostheses. A July 1994 report by a National Cancer Institute investigator subsequently confirmed that silicone gel is also carcinogenic in mice. At still higher risk of cancer are some 350,000 women with silicone implants wrapped in industrial-grade polyurethane foam. Evidence on the carcinogenicity of polyurethane was clearly demonstrated in the early 1960's. Subsequent studies showed that the foam breaks down in the breast to other carcinogens, toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and toluene diamine (TDA), which also induce breast cancer in rodents. (TDA was removed from hair dyes by the cosmetic industry in 1971 on the grounds of its carcinogenicity.) Population studies, claimed as proof of safety by Dow and other implant manufacturers, are too short-term and otherwise flawed to negate the risk of cancer in some 2 million implanted women. Indeed, such studies would have exculpated asbestos in addition to most other recognized carcinogens, which have latencies extending over three decades. The study cited most often by industry as evidence of implants' safety was largely funded by plastic surgeons, who clearly have a vested interest in breast implants. Rather than persisting in its egregious cover-up of the cancer risk of breast implants, apart from recent efforts to file for Chapter 11 to escape liability in breast-implant litigation, Dow Corning should immediately warn all implant women of their cancer risks, offer to remove their implants and develop long-term cancer surveillance at its own expense. From Chicago Tribune, June 5, 1998 Editorial More… Petition for labeling of implant hazards Rheumatoid Arthritis risks from silicone breast implants CONTACT: Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition c/o University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, M/C 922 2121 W. Taylor Street Chicago, IL 60612 epstein _________________ JoAnn Guest mrsjoguest DietaryTipsForHBP www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes AIM Barleygreen " Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future " http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.