Decades after Vietnam War, research links Agent Orange exposure to MDS blood cancer
Why it matters: New research finally links Agent Orange to MDS blood cancer, potentially opening VA benefits for affected veterans.
- Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, chief of hematology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, spearheaded the research, driven by his clinical observations of veterans exposed to Agent Orange developing MDS.
- The study, published in Blood Advances, offers clear evidence that Agent Orange exposure not only causes MDS but can lead to earlier, more aggressive forms of the disease.
- Agent Orange, a blend of herbicides used by the military, contained dioxin, a highly toxic compound linked to severe birth defects and increased cancer risk, and was often mixed with kerosene or fuel, another carcinogen.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently recognizes several cancers as presumptively linked to Agent Orange, qualifying veterans for benefits, but has not yet included MDS, a situation Sekeres hopes his research will change.
Decades after the Vietnam War, new research led by hematologist-oncologist Mikkael Sekeres provides compelling evidence linking Agent Orange exposure to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of blood cancers. Published in Blood Advances, this study fills a critical gap, as MDS was previously unrecognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as presumptively connected to the toxic herbicide, despite long-held suspicions among clinicians.
