Abstract PO2-20-12: Breast Implant-associated Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Azad Farhan , Siva Ajay , Patel Prutha , Miranda Clive , Gravina Matthew 
Published: May 2024

A 54-year-old female with a history of bilateral breast implants presented with intermittent left breast pain for 6 months. She first had bilateral breast implants placed in 1996 and had no reported issues until 2010, when she had bacteremia and seeding infection with subsequent removal of both implants. She then had a second set of silicone-based implants placed in 2012 with no issues for 10 years. Family history was negative for breast cancer or any other malignancy. She had no prior smoking history. Vital signs and laboratory values were unremarkable. On exam, the left breast appeared larger than the right, dense, thickened, and slightly edematous. No lymphadenopathy was palpated. Both mammogram and ultrasound of bilateral breasts, done at the onset of her pain, were normal. Given the patient’s symptoms, an MRI of the breasts was done, with findings concerning an infection or lymphoma. It revealed an irregular fluid collection in the left breast. The fluid collection was rim-enhancing with frond-like areas of enhancing tissue, extending through the inferior aspect of the capsule into the subcutaneous tissue of the lower outer quadrant of the left breast. Enhancement and edema extended off of the superior and posterior aspect of the prosthesis into the pectoralis muscle. It was particularly prominent along the medial aspect of the prosthesis where it extended in the chest wall between the sternum and the costal cartilage. There were 3 mildly enlarged left intramammary lymph nodes measuring up to 7 mm in short axis, with diffuse edema seen within the breast. No axillary adenopathy was seen in the MRI. She was referred to surgery and had both right and left breast implants removed, and a left breast JP drain was placed. The pathology from the left breast capsule excision revealed squamous cell carcinoma, well-differentiated and invasive, associated with a scar and extending to the surgical margin. She was diagnosed with a rare case of breast implant-associated squamous cell carcinoma (BIA-SCC). Subsequent staging imaging showed postsurgical inflammatory changes with no nodal metastatic disease. She continued to follow up outpatient with plans of multidisciplinary meeting to discuss long-term treatment options. Most patients undergoing breast augmentation experience no serious complications. Previously, rare incidences of breast-implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) had been reported, with 1234 cases as of 2022. More recently, cases of BIA-SCC have been seen. Primary SCC of the breast is extremely rare in both augmented and non-augmented women. 19 cases of BIA-SCC are reported in the literature as of 2022, all seen in females, typically arising from capsular tissue around the breast implant. It is a rare and potentially aggressive malignancy, with unclear etiology and undefined therapy regimen due to a paucity of data. Suggested treatments include resection with a negative margin, although this could require an extensive and complex reconstruction, including plastic surgery soft tissue coverage of the resection defect. Definitive radiation to obtain local control can be considered in an organ-sparing approach. Consideration can also be given to either chemosensitization with agents such as cisplatin or combining radiation with immunotherapy.

Citation Format: Farhan Azad, Ajay Siva, Prutha Patel, Clive Miranda, Matthew Gravina. Breast Implant-associated Squamous Cell Carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO2-20-12.