Study compares soft tissue sarcoma rates among U.S. military servicemen and men in the general population

Findings provide clues regarding factors related to this cancer among U.S. active-duty members

2024-12-09

(Press-News.org) A recent analysis reveals that the incidence rates of soft tissue sarcomas—cancers in muscle, fat, blood vessels, nerves, and tendons—are lower in young U.S. active-duty military servicemen compared with those in the general population, but higher in middle-aged servicemen, perhaps due to greater cumulative exposure to toxins. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare cancers arising all over the body, in various organs and tissues such as muscle, fat, and viscera. Most sarcomas arise sporadically, but a small subset arise from exposure to radiation or other environmental factors.

Because individuals in the military may experience more frequent and greater exposure to such environmental risk factors, researchers compared incidence rates of soft tissue sarcomas between active-duty U.S. servicemen and men in the general U.S. population, with the goal of assessing whether they differed in the occurrence of soft tissue sarcoma, providing clues for future research on related factors. Due to small numbers of active servicewomen in the dataset for further analysis, a comparable evaluation could not be accurately performed in women.

After analyzing data from the Department of Defense’s Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) for active-duty servicemen and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program for men in the general population, soft tissue sarcoma incidence rates for men aged 18–59 years were lower in ACTUR than SEER: 14% lower overall, 22% lower among 18–39-year-olds, 15% lower among white men, and 23% lower among Black men, compared with their corresponding counterparts in the general population. Rates of soft tissue sarcomas that had spread or metastasized were also lower in ACTUR than in SEER. However, rates of soft tissue sarcomas were higher in ACTUR than in SEER for men aged 40–59 years, especially for localized tumors.

The scientists suggest that lower rates among young servicemen may be due to better health and early detection and treatment of cancer-associated conditions within the military health system that provides universal care. Higher rates among older servicemen, especially for localized tumors, may result from greater cumulative military-related exposures to toxins or earlier diagnosis of the cancer due to universal care, compared with the U.S. general population.

“Our study is descriptive, hoping to provide clues for analytical studies on factors associated with the differences between the military and general populations,” said senior author Kangmin Zhu, MD, PhD, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. “Further descriptive research with more recent data containing a larger number of military patients is warranted.”

Additional information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. A free abstract of this article will be available via the CANCER Newsroom upon online publication. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com

Full Citation:
“Incidence Rates of Soft Tissue Sarcoma among U.S. Military Servicemen: Comparison with the Rates in the General U.S. Population.” Julie A. Bytnar, Ashley B. Anderson, Benjamin K. Potter, Craig D. Shriver, and Kangmin Zhu. CANCER; Published Online: December 9, 2024 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35607).

URL Upon Publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/cncr.35607

Author Contact: Sharon K. Holland, Deputy Vice President for External Affairs at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, at sharon.holland@usuhs.edu

About the Journal    
CANCER is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society integrating scientific information from worldwide sources for all oncologic specialties. The objective of CANCER is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information among oncologic disciplines concerned with the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer. CANCER is published on behalf of the American Cancer Society by Wiley and can be accessed online. Follow CANCER on X @JournalCancer and Instagram @ACSJournalCancer, and stay up to date with the American Cancer Society Journals on LinkedIn.

About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Toxic air in Texas high schools

2024-12-09

AUSTIN, TX, Dec 9, 2024 – Semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are found in building materials and consumer products like carpeting, furniture and electronics. Gases released by these chemicals in homes, offices and schools pose potential human health risks such as cancers, reproductive disorders, and nervous system damage. A recent study of the indoor air in central Texas high schools revealed that two groups of SVOCs, phthalates and PBDEs, are prevalent in high school environments. The ...

What motivates Americans to eat less red meat?

2024-12-09

AUSTIN, TX, Dec 9, 2024 – Limiting red meat consumption is key to a sustainable and healthy diet, yet Americans are among the world’s largest consumers of red meat. A new study reveals the demographics of American adults who choose not to eat red meat and finds that environmental concerns may matter more to them than health risks. Researchers at Baruch College and the University of Southern California (USC) surveyed more than 7,500 adults as part of the Understanding America Study – a probability-based Internet panel of individuals 18 and older. They will present ...

Sugary drinks significantly raise cardiovascular disease risk, but occasional sweet treats don’t, scientists find

2024-12-09

A little of what you fancy does you good… unless it’s a fizzy drink. Scientists studying the impact of sugar on the risk of cardiovascular disease have found that eating too much added sugar increases your risk of stroke or aneurysm, but eating a few treats is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases. Meanwhile, drinking sweetened beverages raises your risk of stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. “The most striking finding from our study is the divergent relationship between different sources of added sugar and cardiovascular ...

Falsifying anthropics

2024-12-09

In short: “We exist, therefore the universe is made to host us”: the anthropic principle has sparked intense debate in cosmology since its first formulation. A new paper published in JCAP proposes a way to test it. To falsify it, all three of the following conditions must be confirmed by observations: • Cosmic inflation occurred • Axions exist • Dark matter is not made of axions If all these conditions are proven true, the anthropic principle would lose its validity, and our universe would appear ...

New West Health-Gallup poll reveals most Americans worried about often hidden healthcare fees

2024-12-09

WASHINGTON, DC – Monday, December 9, 2024 – More than half of Americans (52%) worry about affording the cost of often hidden healthcare fees, increasingly pervasive charges that could add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to their medical bills a new West Health-Gallup poll finds. Hospitals typically add these fees on top of charges for routine medical services like lab tests or physical examinations provided at outpatient centers, clinics, and medical offices that they own. This means patients end up paying more for the same medical service than they would at independent providers or freestanding clinics – and some may not even ...

Developing wastewater treatment units that treat right where it's generated

2024-12-09

Conventional wastewater treatment involves the centralized collection of wastewater from sources through pipes to large-scale treatment plants, where it is treated in bulk. However, this is not feasible in small, decentralized areas such as rural areas. Simple treatment units installed at small non-point sources of pollution mainly focus on disinfection and turbidity improvement, and do not properly decompose the recalcitrant organic matter in wastewater. In addition, even if industrial wastewater is treated in-house, the treatment efficiency is low, and highly ...

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers find rotavirus vaccine is safe for use in NICU babies

2024-12-09

Philadelphia, December 9, 2024 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that transmission of rotavirus vaccine strains in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is rare and without clinical consequences, strongly suggesting that giving the rotavirus vaccine to eligible infants during their hospitalization provides immune benefits that outweigh any risks. The findings, published today in the journal Pediatrics, could serve as the basis for a change in clinical practice. Rotavirus is a virus that infects the lining of the intestines and is typically ...

New international guidelines announced for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)

2024-12-09

New guidelines on the diagnosis and management of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) – developed by the Centre for Research Excellence in Women’s Health in Reproductive Life (CRE-WHiRL) at Monash University, and key international women’s health organisations with an international team of experts including women with lived experience – will be published today (TBC) simultaneously in three leading journals. POI is defined as loss of ovarian function before 40 years. This is much earlier than the usual age of menopause; occurring at an average age of 48-51 years in women globally. POI affects approximately 4 per cent ...

Supporting parents through “unimaginable pain” of losing child – new toolkit developed for clinicians involved in Child Death Review

2024-12-08

Parents who face the heartbreaking loss of their child should get a specific keyworker to support them through bereavement, wherever they are in the country, according to a set of recommendations informed by new research. In an academic paper published in Archives of Disease in Childhood today, bereaved parents and academic experts from the University of Birmingham, University of Bristol and Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have outlined their recommendations for support that all bereaved parents ...

Could online technology be a clue as to why boys in Norway are outperforming girls in learning English as a second language?

2024-12-08

Bucking conventionality, boys in Norway are making early gains in reading English as a second language and even outperforming girls at age 10 and 13 – a new a study of more than one million students suggests. Publishing their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, experts from the University of Oslo propose the perhaps unexpected results might be explained by online gaming and experiences with other digital technologies such as YouTube – with English being the language of the internet. “Our ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sound is a primary issue in the lives of skateboarders, study shows

Watch what you eat: NFL game advertisements promote foods high in fat, sodium

Red Dress Collection Concert hosted by Sharon Stone kicks off American Heart Month

One of the largest studies on preterm birth finds a maternal biomarker test significantly reduces neonatal morbidities and improves neonatal outcomes

One of the largest studies of its kind finds early intervention with iron delivered intravenously during pregnancy is a safe and effective treatment for anemia