Decades after the Vietnam War, hematologist-oncologist Mikkael Sekeres began seeing veterans in his clinic with myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of blood cancers known as MDS. Many of the vets had been exposed to Agent Orange, a blend of herbicides that the military used to peel back dense foliage during the war.
This exposure has long been linked to many serious diseases, including several cancers, but not MDS — until now. In data published this month in Blood Advances, Sekeres and his colleagues were able to provide clear evidence that Agent Orange exposure is linked to MDS and can cause earlier, more aggressive disease.
