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Copenhagen (dpa) - Women who have silicone breast implants do not have an increased risk for breast cancer but rather the opposite, a new Danish study said Thursday.
"The results confirm previous studies and when can little by little calm women with implants," said physician Soren Friis of the Danish Cancer Society, who led the study.
"There is nothing that suggests that silicone increases the risk for breast cancer or other cancers," he added on the Society's web site.
The survey comprised some 2,800 Danish women who during 1973 to 1995 underwent breast augmentation at public or private clinics.
The results suggested that women with implants had a lower risk of breast cancer - some 30 per cent lower - than the women in the control group.
Friis said it was not known what caused the lower rate, but said "it was not the silicone."
One explanation may be that women who opt for breast enlargement surgery may have a different disposition, perhaps they weigh less or have children at a younger age.
Women with implants, however, had higher rates of skin cancer than the control group, likely due to excess sunning, Friis said.
The study was also to be published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
