Swords to Plowshares

A study by the UC Davis Cancer Center has concluded that Vietnam veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer, compared to veterans were not exposed to it.

UC Davis Cancer Center: Exposure to Agent Orange linked to prostate cancer in Vietnam veterans

UC Davis Cancer Center physicians today released results of research showing that Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange have greatly increased risks of prostate cancer and even greater risks of getting the most aggressive form of the disease as compared to those who were not exposed.

Based on medical evaluations conducted between 1998 and 2006, the study revealed that twice as many men exposed to Agent Orange were identified with prostate cancer. In addition, Agent Orange-exposed men were diagnosed two-and-a-half years younger and were nearly four 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. Read on…