Breast implant-linked lymphoma can be controlled by removing the implant and the surrounding tissue, researchers said.

The industry-funded study by the Rand Corp. is based on a review of 29 cases of a rare form of immune-system cancer in breast-implant patients and input from a panel of experts. While the aesthetic devices have been linked to the lymphoma for more than a decade, there is still no evidence to prove the disease is caused by the implant, researchers also said in the study published online yesterday by the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a notice in January linking anaplastic large-cell lymphoma and breast implants. The agency didn’t recommend removal of the implants because the cancer is rare and only associated with patients who are experiencing pain, lumps, swelling or asymmetry.