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Study links prostate cancer, Agent Orange

Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange are nearly twice as likely to have prostate cancer — especially in its most aggressive form — when compared to veterans who were not hit with the herbicide, according to new research from the University of California, Davis, Cancer Center.

The new findings stem from a study of 13,000 Vietnam veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Northern California Health Care System. The exposed veterans also were an average of 2½ years younger than men typically diagnosed with the disease, and were almost four times more likely to have cancer that had spread to other parts of their bodies.

“Just as those with a family history of prostate cancer or who are 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,” said Ralph deVere White, director of the Cancer Center and a study co-author.

Research has already linked Agent Orange to soft-tissue sarcomas, Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This is the largest study to connect prostate cancer with Agent Orange, said Karim Chamie, lead author of the study and a resident physician with the UC Davis Department of Urology and the VA Northern California Health Care system.

The U.S. government widely used Agent Orange during Vietnam to remove dense foliage that could provide cover for enemy forces. The chemical is now banned.