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Men who were exposed to Agent Orange chemicals used during the Vietnam War are at higher risk for life-threatening prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, researchers have found.
What's more, those who served where the herbicide was used were diagnosed with cancer about five years earlier than other men, on average, in the new study.
"This is a very, very strong predictor of lethal cancer," said urologist Dr. Mark Garzotto, who worked on the study at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.
"If you're a person who's otherwise healthy and you've been exposed to Agent Orange, that has important implications for whether you should be screened or not screened," he told Reuters Health.
Agent Orange - named after the giant orange drums in which the chemicals were stored - was used by the U.S. military to destroy foliage, mainly in southern Vietnam. The herbicide was often contaminated with a type of dioxin, a potently carcinogenic chemical.
The Vietnam Red Cross Society has estimated that up to one million Vietnamese suffered disabilities or health problems as a result of Agent Orange, including children born with birth defects years after their parents were exposed.
Past research has also suggested that U.S. veterans who served where Agent Orange was used are at an increased risk of lymphoma and certain other cancers, including prostate cancer.
For the new study, researchers wanted to see whether exposure was more closely linked to slow-growing prostate cancers or aggressive tumors.
They analyzed medical records belonging to 2,720 veterans who were referred to the Portland VA for a prostate biopsy. About one in 13 of those men had been exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, according to their VA intake interviews.
One third of all men in the study were diagnosed with prostate cancer, about half of which were high-grade cancers - the more aggressive and fast-growing type.....snip~
Agent Orange tied to aggressive prostate cancer risk
Thoughts.....Especially my cuzins, my bruthas? I have been fine up until this point. Then my mother died last year from Grade 4. Which then due to some skin cancer in my nail of my middle finger. Which ended up in causing me to have get rid of half that finger. They have been putting me thru the Ringer with the testing. So far nothing has come up. But as you can see it says we can be relatively healthy and still have this **** come after us. All because of this fricken stuff. Even for those just being around it. Here I was thinking I was clean and clear from all of it. Seems there is always something to bring us back to that ****ing time.
What's more, those who served where the herbicide was used were diagnosed with cancer about five years earlier than other men, on average, in the new study.
"This is a very, very strong predictor of lethal cancer," said urologist Dr. Mark Garzotto, who worked on the study at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.
"If you're a person who's otherwise healthy and you've been exposed to Agent Orange, that has important implications for whether you should be screened or not screened," he told Reuters Health.
Agent Orange - named after the giant orange drums in which the chemicals were stored - was used by the U.S. military to destroy foliage, mainly in southern Vietnam. The herbicide was often contaminated with a type of dioxin, a potently carcinogenic chemical.
The Vietnam Red Cross Society has estimated that up to one million Vietnamese suffered disabilities or health problems as a result of Agent Orange, including children born with birth defects years after their parents were exposed.
Past research has also suggested that U.S. veterans who served where Agent Orange was used are at an increased risk of lymphoma and certain other cancers, including prostate cancer.
For the new study, researchers wanted to see whether exposure was more closely linked to slow-growing prostate cancers or aggressive tumors.
They analyzed medical records belonging to 2,720 veterans who were referred to the Portland VA for a prostate biopsy. About one in 13 of those men had been exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, according to their VA intake interviews.
One third of all men in the study were diagnosed with prostate cancer, about half of which were high-grade cancers - the more aggressive and fast-growing type.....snip~
Agent Orange tied to aggressive prostate cancer risk
Thoughts.....Especially my cuzins, my bruthas? I have been fine up until this point. Then my mother died last year from Grade 4. Which then due to some skin cancer in my nail of my middle finger. Which ended up in causing me to have get rid of half that finger. They have been putting me thru the Ringer with the testing. So far nothing has come up. But as you can see it says we can be relatively healthy and still have this **** come after us. All because of this fricken stuff. Even for those just being around it. Here I was thinking I was clean and clear from all of it. Seems there is always something to bring us back to that ****ing time.
eace