Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) statement on BIA-ALCL

The topics included in the statement are: What is ALCL?; current UK advice for patients and clinicians; MHRA actions and additional information. You can read the MHRA statement here.

What is BIA-ALCL?

Breast Implant Associated-Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare sub-type of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). It is one of four sub-types of ALCL which has been found in association with breast implants in a small number of cases world-wide. This sub-type is always both CD30 positive and ALK negative.

How common is BIA-ALCL?

The first case of BIA-ALCL was reported as recently as 1997 and was discovered in association with a saline filled breast implant. The most reliable frequency of occurrence of BIA-ALCL is estimated at 1 in 300,000 breast implants or an annual incidence of 0.1 to 0.3 per 100,000 women with implants but with growing awareness and reporting of this rare disease the true incidence may be higher.

You can read more about BIA-ALCL on the Clinical section of our website here.