ATSDR study examines possible link between Marines’ male breast cancer and exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune

Jacksonville, North Carolina

Monday, September 21, 2015

ATLANTA—Results from a study conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) suggest that male breast cancer might be associated with being stationed at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina and military housing exposure to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) perchloroethylene (PCE), t-1, 2 dichloroethylene (DCE), and vinyl chloride in drinking water at the base. However, the findings of this study were based on small numbers of cases, and modeled levels of exposure, so should be interpreted with caution.

According to the study which appears in the journal Environmental Health, the risk of male breast cancer increased slightly with being stationed at Camp Lejeune and higher levels of exposure to PCE. The findings also suggested that exposures to trichloroethylene (TCE), PCE, DCE, and vinyl chloride while stationed at the base might have accelerated the onset of male breast cancer.

The study included 444 male Marines who were born before Jan. 1, 1969, and diagnosed with or treated for certain forms of cancer at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility between Jan. 1, 1995, and May 5, 2013. The study identified 71 men with breast cancer; 30 of the men were stationed at Camp Lejeune at some point during their service.

The results of this study add to the scientific literature on the health effects of exposures to these chemicals in drinking water. To gather more information, ATSDR intends to evaluate male breast cancer in a planned cancer incidence study that will involve state cancer registries nationwide as well as federal cancer registries. ATSDR will begin working with state and federal cancer registries in 2016.

The full report is available at: http://www.ehjournal.net/content/14/1/74.

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ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the potential for adverse human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.

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