Does an association between prostate cancer and military service in Vietnam exist?

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May 2 2006

Men in the armed forces who served in Vietnam may have been exposed to Agent Orange, the defoliate that potentially is associated with causing prostate cancer (CaP).

If so, the correlation between Vietnam service and CaP is present, but not in a statistically significantly manner according to a report by Dr. Leavy and colleagues that appears in the March, 2006 online issue of BMC Public Health.

Between 2001 and 2002, 606 men with CaP from Western Australia were qualified to participate in a case-control study. They completed a self-administered questionnaire on personal demographics, family cancer history, screening history and occupational history. A military history was also obtained. The data was compared to case-matched control men obtained from the Electoral Roll.

A family history for CaP had a significant positive association with CaP, increasing the risk 2-fold. A history of military service did not increase the risk of developing CaP, although a specific history of serving in Vietnam did increase the risk but not to a statistically significant level.

This study used a population-based cancer registry and pathologically-confirmed cases of CaP. While an association between service in Vietnam and CaP was found, lack of statistical significance may reflect the low response rate of 64% among eligible cases.

By Christopher P. Evans, MD

Reference:

BMC Public Health 2006; 6:75, epub.