Close on the heels of a last-week disclosure by The Sunday Telegraph that serious concerns about the safety of “metal-on-metal” hip replacements are prompting regulators to issue new guidance on the devices, a new British study has revealed that hip replacement patients apparently face a higher risk of cancer.

Raising fresh concerns about the safety of hip replacements given to tens of thousands of people in Britain, the early findings from the new study underscore the increased risk of cancer, as well as genetic harm, from the implant of "metal-on-metal" devices.

The findings of the comprehensive study, involving 72 hip replacement patients, were based on the detection of notable changes to cells in the bladders of over 20 percent of the patients who were observed by the researchers after they were given "metal-on-metal" hip replacements.

The study found that "metal-on-metal" hip replacements had caused genetic damage to the bladders of 17 patients, with three of them also found to have developed full-blown cancer. The proportion of patients who suffered DNA damage could be particularly noteworthy in the wake of the fact that such changes can often lead to mutations which may finally result in cancer.

The study, undertaken by orthopaedic consultants in Bristol, was carried out after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a warning that all 40,000 Britons who had received "metal-on-metal" devices should undergo annual checks. The researchers will likely present the results to other surgeons next month.