�UC Davis Cancer Center physicians released results of research display that Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange have greatly increased risks of prostate gland cancer and even greater risks of getting the most fast-growing form of the disease as compared to those who were not exposed.
The findings, which appear online now and will be published in the September 15 issue of the journal Cancer, are the low gear to data link the weedkiller with this form of cancer. The research is also the first to utilize a large universe of men in their 60s and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to screen for the disease.
"While others have joined Agent Orange to cancers such as soft-tissue sarcomas, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, there is limited evidence so far associating it with prostate cancer the Crab," said Karim Chamie, lead author of the study and occupant physician with the UC Davis Department of Urology and the VA Northern California Health Care System. "Here we report on the largest study to date of Vietnam War veterans open to Agent Orange and the incidence of prostate cancer."
Chamie also aforementioned that, unlike previous studies that were either excessively small or conducted on men wHO were excessively young, patients in the current study were entering their prime years for developing prostate cancer. There was besides the added advantage that it was conducted only during the era of PSA showing, providing a powerful tool for early diagnosis and tracking of prostate cancer.
More than 13,000 Vietnam veterans enrolled in the VA Northern California Health Care System were stratified into two groups - exposed or non exposed to Agent Orange between 1962 and 1971. Based on medical evaluations conducted between 1998 and 2006, the study revealed that double as many men uncovered to Agent Orange were identified with prostate crab. In addition, Agent Orange-exposed men were diagnosed two-and-a-half years jr. and were nearly four-spot times more likely to present with metastatic disease. Other prostate cancer risk factors - race, body-mass index and smoking - were not statistically different between the two groups.
"Our country's veterans merit the best possible wellness care, and this cogitation clearly confirms that Agent Orange exposure during service in Vietnam is associated with a higher risk of infection of prostate gland cancer later in life," said Ralph deVere White, UC Davis Cancer Center director and a study co-author. "Just as those with a family history of prostate cancer or who ar of African-American heritage are screened more frequently, so too should men with Agent Orange exposure be given priority consideration for all the screening and diagnostic tools we have at our disposal in the hopes of early detection and treatment of this disease."
Now a banned chemical, Agent Orange is a combination of two synthetic compounds known to be contaminated with the dioxin
