Cancer Probe Near Fort Detrick, Md. To Expand
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) --Maryland public health officials say certain cancers appear to occur at younger ages among people living near Fort Detrick in Frederick than in people statewide.
Clifford Mitchell of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Monday that investigators will probe deeper into the discrepancies involving liver, bone and endocrine cancers.
The most marked difference involves liver cancer. The median diagnosis age among people living near the Army installation from 000 to 2007 was 55 versus 65 statewide.
Mitchell says researchers will examine the cases in greater detail and look at others as far back as 1992.
The investigation reflects concerns about Agent Orange testing and industrial chemical dumping at Fort Detrick decades ago.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
