Association of anti-RNA polymerase III antibody and silicone breast implants in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is believed to be caused by a complex interplay between genetic factors and environmental influences. Although silicone has been considered to be a candidate of environmental agents, clinical data presented so far fail to show a significant association between silicone breast implant (SBI) and the development of SSc. Because we recently experienced two consecutive SSc patients with anti-RNA polymerase III (RNAP III) antibody who underwent SBI, we here investigated the association of SBI history with the development of SSc positive for anti-RNAP III antibody. Among 262 Japanese SSc patients, of note, the frequency of SBI history was significantly higher in the anti-RNAP III antibody group (16.0% [4/25]) than in the anti-topoisomerase I antibody group (0% [0/87], P < 0.005) and in the anticentromere antibody group (1.2% [2/150], P < 0.005). These results suggest that SBI could influence the development of SSc in a certain subset of patients with anti-RNAP III antibody.