
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990                   TAG: 9004060824
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

AGENT ORANGE CANCER LINK REVIVED

Government scientists, who a week ago announced that a study found no link between Agent Orange exposure and a rare form of cancer among Vietnam veterans, say the herbicide cannot be ruled out, either.

The chief investigator for the Selected Cancers Study said Wednesday that the findings don't eliminate an Agent Orange connection.

"The study does not rule out that Agent Orange may cause cancer," Dr. Edward Brann of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta told the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Asked about this afterward, Brann added: "Agent Orange may cause cancer. We don't know from this study."

In a summary of the study released last week, CDC said: "We found no evidence that the increased risk of NHL [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma] might be related to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam."

"These data, along with evidence from other studies regarding the likelihood of Vietnam veterans' exposure to Agent Orange, make it quite unlikely that the increased risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma among Vietnam veterans results from exposure to herbicides," it added.

Members of the panel questioned the reliability of the study in the 12-year-old debate over Agent Orange.

More than 36,000 of the nation's 2.6 million Vietnam veterans have requested benefits based on claims they suffered diseases attributable to Agent Orange. Only three have been granted disability payments - for a skin condition known as chloracne.

by CNB