Report

This report is the third comprehensive review and evaluation of the newly published scientific evidence regarding associations between health outcomes and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides used in Vietnam. In accordance with P.L. 102-4, the committee was asked to determine, to the extent that available data permitted:

• whether a statistical association with herbicide exposure exists, taking into account the strength of the scientific evidence and the appropriateness of the statistical and epidemiologic methods used to detect the association;
• the increased risk of the disease among those exposed to herbicides during Vietnam service; and
• whether there is a plausible biologic mechanism or other evidence of a causal relationship between herbicide exposure and the disease.

DVA also asked the committee to examine the possible association between the herbicides of concern in this report and AL-type primary amyloidosis, a condition not examined in previous Veterans and Agent Orange reports.

The report revealed new "limited or suggestive" evidence of an association with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in veterans' children, but the finding is not conclusive. Previous IOM reports found "inadequate or insufficient" evidence to determine whether a link existed for AML or other cancers in the children of veterans.