Air Force Global Strike Command held a town hall on Jan. 30 to discuss the latest updates in the missile community cancer study that’s been underway for two years.

During the town hall, medical officers from the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine presented the findings of the next phase of the ongoing epidemiological review, which examines Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, state and national health databases in an attempt to assess the incidence of common cancers within the missile community and to determine if missileers are at a higher risk of developing certain cancers, according to AFGSC.

“Basically, for all mortality calculations, cancer rates were lower or similar in the missile community versus their comparison group,” Col. Richard O. Speakman, USAFSAM commander, said during the town hall.

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The study is looking at 14 common cancers, to include non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which was the concern that prompted the concern in January 2023. The study includes the same 14 cancers that were included in the fighter aviator cancer study the Air Force previously conducted.

Each phase of the epidemiology review incorporates different medical databases.

The first two phases examined DoD and VA electronic medical records and cancer registries.

The latest phase, that officials reviewed during the Jan. 30 town hall, included the National Death Index and is the first phase to include non-DoD or VA records, allowing for comparisons between the missile community, the larger military community and the general public, according to AFGSC.

Speakman said there were 37,100 cancer deaths within the Department of the Air Force from 1979 to 2020.

Of those, 1,145 were within the missile community and 35,955 were outside the missile community, according to their data.

“Cancer mortality rates were not significantly increased for total cancer or any of the 14 individual cancers in the missile community,” according to the briefing slides.

Air Force continuing missileer cancer study [2023]

The missile community had “significantly lower cancer mortality rates for lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer and for all cancer types overall,” according to the briefing slides, as compared to non-missile airmen.

“Data showed no increased cancer mortality for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the missile community,” according to the briefing slides, compared to airmen in other career fields.

Compared to the general population, cancer mortality rates weren’t significantly increased for cancer overall or any of the 14 individual cancers in the missile community.

The missile community had significantly lower cancer mortality for colon and recutum cancer, lunch and bronchus cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostate cancers, according to the briefing slides.

The Air Force has also completed more environmental sampling to assess air, water, soil, radon and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs at the three missile bases, which are Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Minot in North Dakota and F.E. Warren in Wyoming.

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So far, they’ve collected 8,400 samples for more than 100,000 data points, according to AFGSC.

The Air Force conducted deep cleaning at some missile sites where polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, had been detected and recently awarded a contract for continued deep cleaning at missile sites.

Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, AFGSC commander, said that the Air Force had made mitigated environmental issues in the 1990s when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency changed regulations related to asbestos and other common materials that became known health hazards.

Bussiere said that AFGSC has adjusted technical orders, civil engineering manuals, periodic maintenance and signage to mitigate any PCBs or environmental conditions that might impact airmen health.

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AFGSC is continuing the epidemiology review to include state and civilian registries and that data is expected to be ready by December, officials said.

Speakman said they expect that will include two to three times the data they’ve examined so far.

Bussiere said AFGSC would continue pursuing the institutional deep cleaning of missile facilities and a process of documenting exposure, as well as reviewing the medical data.

PCB cleanup at Malmstrom continuing [2023]

Each phase of the epidemiological review “has resulted in a deepter, better understanding of the exposure of our airmen” compared to the rest of the Air Force and the general population.

With the next phase that has a larger dataset, Bussiere said it will broaden their understanding.

“We’re not done but we continue to move forward deliberately in this process,” Bussiere said.

Air Force continuing mitigation, PCBs found at another missile site [2023]

He said AFGSC has formally established the presence of PCBs in the work space and sent that information to the Air Force, VA and oversight committees so that health providers are aware and able to monitor any impacts, as well as provide resources and benefits airmen might be entitled to.