In September 2022, the FDA announced a second cancer that can develop in the capsule around ANY breast implants, smooth or textured, saline or gel. BIA squamous cell cancer (SCC) develops typically around 20 years after augmentation, compared to BIA-ALCL which develops around 7 to 8 years after augmentation. Unfortunately, BIA-SCC is a more aggressive cancer than BIA-ALCL; fortunately, BIA-SCC is thought to be very rare. Diagnosis and treatment approaches to BIA-SCC remain similar to those for BIA-ALCL.
We remind you that BIA-ALCL was thought to be very rare in 2016 and now has an incidence of one in 400 with Biocell implants. Time will tell whether BIA-SCC is truly as rare as we think and hope.