Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2002

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Released On:

January 23, 2003

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This report, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2002, is the fourth in a series examining the impact of chemical defoliants, including Agent Orange, and their contaminants on human health. In previous updates on the health risk to veterans posed by exposure to Agent Orange and other chemicals used in Vietnam, all forms of leukemia were considered collectively when examining research on links between exposure to herbicides and the risk for cancer. The combined evidence was found to be inadequate or insufficient to determine whether any association exists between leukemia and exposure to the herbicides or contaminants in them. However, a recent re-examination of the evidence revealed sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to herbicides sprayed during the Vietnam War and the risk for development of a specific form of leukemia - chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) - in veterans.

Although classified as a form of leukemia, CLL shares many traits with Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, both of which previously have found to be positively associated with herbicide exposure. Both CLL and lymphomas originate from malignant B-cells, and CLL can transform into an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma known as Richter's Syndrome.

The report made recommendations for future scientific studies on the health effects of herbicides and contaminants used in Vietnam, including further investigation of glioblastomas and astrocytomas.

Related Reports
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2006 Jul 27, 2007
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2004 Mar 4, 2005
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Length of Presumptive Period for Association Between Exposure and Respiratory Cancer Mar 2, 2004
		Characterizing Exposure of Veterans and Agent Orange and Other Herbicides Used in Vietnam: Interim Findings and Recommendations Apr 16, 2003
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Herbicide/Dioxin Exposure and Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in the Children of Vietnam Veterans Feb 27, 2002
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2000 Jan 1, 2001
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Herbicide/Dioxin Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes Jan 1, 2000
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 1998 Feb 1, 1999
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 1996 Jan 1, 1996
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 1996. Summary and Research Highlights Jan 1, 1996
		Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam Jan 1, 1994


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