Background: Lipofilling has been indicated for postmastectomy and postlumpectomy breast reconstruction. The clinical literatures underline its technical efficacy but experimental studies raise important questions about the potential detrimental effect of adipocytes on the stimulation of cancer growth and reappearance.
Design: We collected 321 consecutive patients operated for a primary breast cancer between 1997 and 2008 who subsequently underwent lipofilling for reconstructive purpose. For each patient, we selected two matched patients with similar characteristics who did not undergo a lipofilling.
Results: Eighty-nine percent of the tumors were invasive. Median follow-up was 56 months from the primary surgery and 26 months from the lipofilling. Eight and 19 patients had a local event in the lipofilling and control group, respectively, leading to comparable cumulative incidence curves [P = 0.792; Hazard Ratio(Lipo vs No lipo) = 1.11 (95% confidence interval 0.47-2.64)]. These results were confirmed when patients undergoing quadrantectomy and mastectomy were analyzed separately and when the analysis was limited to invasive tumors. Based on 37 cases, the lipofilling group resulted at higher risk of local events when the analysis was limited to intraepithelial neoplasia.
Conclusions: Lipofilling seems to be a safe procedure in breast cancer patients. Longer follow-up and further experiences from oncological series are urgently required to confirm these findings.