New 2008 Study Strengthens Agent Orange PCa Assn

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515072810.htm

New Study Strengthens Association Of Prostate Cancer With Exposure To Agent Orange
ScienceDaily (May 16, 2008) — As men age, their risk of developing prostate cancer increases. Aging Vietnam veterans are giving researchers new opportunities to solidify the connection between in-country exposure to Agent Orange and subsequent prostate cancer development. In a study presented during the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Orlando, researchers presented data from a large study of veterans enrolled in the Northern California VA System, examining prostate cancer incidence and disease characteristics in those exposed to Agent Orange compared to those who were not exposed.

More than 13,000 Vietnam Veterans were divided into two groups based on their exposure to Agent Orange. Twice as many men exposed to Agent Orange were identified with prostate cancer. Agent Orange-exposed men were also diagnosed younger and were more likely to present with aggressive or metastatic disease. Other prostate cancer risk factors – race, body-mass index (BMI) and smoking – were not statistically different between the two groups.
This increased evidence suggests that exposure to Agent Orange should be considered a risk factor for developing prostate cancer, similar to African-American heritage or a family history of the disease.
About Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a combination of two synthetic compounds known to be contaminated with the dioxin tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD) during the manufacturing process. Named for the color of the barrel in which it was stored, Agent Orange was one of many broad-leaf defoliants used in Vietnam to destroy enemy ground cover. It is estimated that more than 20 million gallons of the chemicals, also known as “rainbow herbicides,” were used between 1962 and 1971; approximately half of the herbicides were Agent Orange. In 1997, the International Agency for Research on Cancer re-classified TCDD as a Group 1 carcinogen, a classification that includes arsenic, asbestos and gamma radiation.
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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by American Urological Association.

Journal Reference:
0. Chamie K, deVere White RW, Ellison LM: Agent Orange exposure, Vietnam War veterans and the risk of prostate cancer. J Urol, suppl., 2008; 179: 149, abstract 421. [link]

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American Urological Association (2008, May 16). New Study Strengthens Association Of Prostate Cancer With Exposure To Agent Orange. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/05/080515072810.htm

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070520091858.htm

Veterans Exposed To Agent Orange Have Higher Rates Of Prostate Cancer Recurrence
ScienceDaily (May 21, 2007) — Veterans exposed to Agent Orange have a 48 percent increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence following surgery than their unexposed peers, and when the disease comes back, it seems more aggressive, researchers say.

"We need to be screening these patients earlier, treating their cancer aggressively and following them closely afterward because they are at higher risk for recurrence," says Dr. Martha Terris, chief of the Urology Department at the Augusta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and professor of urology at the Medical College of Georgia.
"We looked at all patients, whether they were exposed or not, to see which were more likely to develop a recurrence and patients with a history of Agent Orange exposure were more likely," says Dr. Sagar R. Shah, MCG urology resident who is presenting the data May 20 during the American Urological Association Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif.
The study looked at 1,653 veterans who had prostate cancer surgery at Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in five cities between 1990 and 2006; 199 had been exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant sprayed on the dense forests of Vietnam during the war.
Agent Orange contains the carcinogen, dioxin, which can be stored in body fat and is believed to make its way into the cell nucleus and work as a tumor promoter. In the past, relatively higher mortality rates have been found in chemical plant workers and farmers with prostate cancer who were exposed to dioxin, the researchers write in their abstract.
Dioxin's impact is dose-related, and while the researchers did not measure levels of dioxin or Agent Orange, they suspect that blacks, who were more likely to be ground troops, also were more likely to have had more Agent Orange exposure.
Researchers found veterans with Agent Orange exposure more likely to be black and younger at the time of surgery to remove their prostate gland. The disease appeared to be caught earlier in exposed veterans. Most had their disease staged as T1 by pathologists, which means it appeared confined to the prostate gland, and had lower pre-operative prostate specific antigen scores, an indicator of disease aggressiveness.
However, when the disease recurred, exposed veterans experienced a more rapid biochemical progression of their disease, which PSA measures. In blacks, the PSA doubled in almost half the time of their unexposed peers.
A blood PSA level screens for prostate cancer for most men beginning at age 50 and at age 40 for blacks and men with a family history. Black men have been shown by Dr. Terris and others to have more aggressive disease earlier in life.
To account for known racial differences, researchers also compared recurrence rates in exposed and non-exposed blacks and whites and the results held up. "As a population in general, if you were exposed to Agent Orange, you're more likely to have a recurrence," says Dr. Shah. "If you were black and exposed, you were more likely to recur than if you were black and unexposed."
If it sounds odd that men who had their prostate removed could have disease recurrence, Dr. Terris points out that microscopic cancer cells can migrate out of the area before surgery, becoming detectable later when they start pushing PSA levels back up.
In fact, following any type of prostate cancer treatment, men routinely get PSA levels checked for the rest of their lives. Without cancer recurrence, they should stay at zero.
The study was funded by the Georgia Cancer Coalition and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Medical College of Georgia.

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Medical College of Georgia (2007, May 21). Veterans Exposed To Agent Orange Have Higher Rates Of Prostate Cancer Recurrence. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/05/070520091858.htm

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