Скачать или смотреть New Study Links Agent Orange to Rare Blood Cancer in Vietnam Vets

A landmark study finds Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange face a significantly higher risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome. Researchers hope this finding helps veterans get the health and disability benefits they’ve been denied for 50 years.

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A major new study, for the first time, links Agent Orange to a rare blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS.

Researchers found Vietnam veterans exposed to the chemical face a higher risk of developing MDS, develop it earlier, and often have more aggressive disease.

For decades, soldiers and doctors have questioned whether the toxic defoliant used in the war was linked to MDS — an unanswered gap that created barriers to care and disability benefits.

“Looking at the association between agent orange exposure among Vietnam veterans and the development of a bone marrow cancer, myelodysplastic syndromes, has been my passion project my entire career.” Mikkael Sekeres, M.D., Chief of Hematology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Mikkael Sekeres led the eight-year study, which followed more than 2,100 people in a national MDS registry, including 130 who reported Agent Orange exposure.

The results showed veterans exposed to the chemical had significantly higher odds of developing MDS.

“Not only that, but we were able to show that they're more likely to progress to a more serious cancer like acute myeloid leukemia or a higher risk of myelodysplastic syndromes.”

Exposed veterans were also nearly twice as likely to see their disease worsen within two years and they carried more harmful genetic mutations.

They were also more likely to be Black — a pattern researchers say needs deeper study.

Dr. Sekeres says it’s time for Agent Orange to be formally recognized as a risk factor for MDS. “And these people who served in Vietnam will finally get the service connection, meaning provision of health care, that they've deserved for so many decades.”

Researchers plan follow-up work using national veteran databases to strengthen and refine the findings.

Source: 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting

Author Affiliations: Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Image Attribution: Adobe Stock

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