Air Force Links Higher Risk of Cancer to Agent Orange

WASHINGTON —  A study has found an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma among Air Force veterans of the Vietnam War who sprayed the chemical defoliant Agent Orange, the Air Force said Thursday.

The cancer incidence was found to be 1.46 to 2.33 times higher than among the national population.

An analysis of the study is to be published in the February edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The Air Force released a synopsis of the article, which was written by members of an Air Force group that has been studying the effects of Agent Orange for more than 20 years.

The study is to be reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences, which will report its results to the Veterans Affairs Department.

From 1962 to 1971, the Air Force sprayed an estimated 11 million gallons of defoliants, mainly Agent Orange, over Vietnam to destroy jungle cover for communist troops, in a campaign known as Operation Ranch Hand.