Oncological Safety of Lipofilling in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Meta-analysis and Update on Clinical Practice

Background: Lipofilling is an increasingly popular technique for breast reconstruction following both mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery (BCS). However, concerns remain over its oncological safety and its effect on cancer recurrence.

Materials And Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was carried out. Patients who had undergone mastectomy or BCS were investigated separately in order to find out whether the addition of lipofilling had a significant effect on locoregional recurrence rate.

Results: Eleven studies were used in the analysis, yielding a total of 2,382 patients. For patients undergoing mastectomy (mean follow-up=36.2 months, range=12-90 months) or BCS (mean follow-up=30.2 months, range=12-60 months), the addition of lipofilling was not found to significantly affect the locoregional recurrence rate.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrates that lipofilling is an oncologically safe procedure to be incorporated into breast reconstruction following either mastectomy or BCS for breast cancer. However, a careful oncological follow-up is recommended. In the future, more adequately powered controlled clinical trials are needed in order to fully understand long-term outcomes after lipofilling.