Abstract 246P
Background
Due to the report of Breast Implant Associated-Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) provided by the U.S. FDA, BIOCELL textured breast implants and tissue expanders from Allergan have been voluntarily recalled in July 2019. This problem is a serious situation in Japan, where only the company's implants are covered by insurance for breast reconstruction. Therefore, we conducted a survey of breast cancer patients' awareness of breast reconstruction based on this recall problem.
Methods
The subjects were 958patients diagnosed with breast cancer. All are members of patient association such as Peer Ring and Empowering Breast Cancer which used by breast cancer patients. A questionnaire survey using the web was conducted between December 9 and 18, 2019.
Results
The median age was 48 years (range:24-70). 821patients underwent total mastectomy. Forty percent of patients had surgery in 2019, and the rest had before that. 466patients (49%) said they had been affected by the recall. Thirty-seven patients (4.5%) discontinued reconstruction, and 18patients (2.2%) removed silicon or expander. 4.8% of patients inserting expander and 3.7% of patients who was scheduled for secondary reconstruction switched from silicone implants to autologous tissue. 13% of expander patients and 28% of secondary reconstruction patients have yet to determine how to reconstruction. 30.5% of patients became mentally unstable due to anxiety about the onset of BIA-ALCL.
Conclusions
The results suggest half of Japanese breast cancer patients are affected and felt uneasy by this recall problem. What we need to do is provide psychological care for these patients and provide accurate and prompt medical information.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.