Hepatitis A, B, C and D sit at different points along the vaccine story this series has traced since 1777. One has a vaccine the Army itself invented.
Cured, Prevented and Invented: The Military’s Long Reckoning with Viral Hepatitis
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Annette Boyle
The Geography of Disease and the Need for a Growing Vaccine Arsenal
A military confined to one continent faces one disease environment. A force that deploys anywhere on short notice faces all of them at once.
The Military’s Long War on a Quick Killer, Meningococcal Disease
Few pathogens move with the speed of Neisseria meningitidis. Even with prompt antibiotic treatment, meningococcal disease still kills 10% to 15% of the people it infects, and a 2019 analysis of invasive cases in England found that 85% of disease-related deaths occurred within a single day of diagnosis.
The Longest Battle: U.S. Military vs. Infectious Disease
This year marks the 250th anniversary of our nation—and of U.S. military efforts to protect troops from infectious disease. Surprised? Far from a recent and controversial development, the need to require actions that reduced the risk of an incapacitated fighting force was recognized by George Washington as early as 1776. Building on that, the first mandatory vaccination for all new recruits rolled out 180 years ago.
New VA/DoD Obesity Guideline Strongly Recommends Semaglutide, Tirzepatide
A new synopsis of the VA/DoD clinical practice guideline for managing adult overweight and obesity pushes clinicians to look beyond a single number on the body mass index (BMI) when assessing health.
Pentagon to Reimburse Troops for Sperm and Egg Freezing Before Deployment
Nearly 2,000 U.S. troops suffered debilitating injuries to their groins or genitals during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2000 and 2013, and about 307,000 more sustained some type of head injury over the same period, all injuries that can compromise fertility and sexual function.
Rare Neurologic Syndromes Can Reveal Hidden Cancers Before Diagnosis
Neurologists rarely address hematology and oncology audiences directly, but at the Association of VA Hematology/Oncology (AVAHO) annual meeting in Austin Sept. 11-13, Tammy L. Smith, MD, PhD, made the case that they should listen more closely to what the nervous system is telling them.
Targeted Therapies Expand Options for Servicemembers, Dependents With Brain Tumors
For decades, standard care for most primary brain tumors changed little: Surgery to remove what could be extracted safely, radiation when surgery wasn’t option or following surgery and a short list of chemotherapies that were often nearly as hard on patients as the tumors themselves.
For Liver Cancer, Screening, Not Treatment, Poses the Biggest Challenge
Liver cancer treatment has been transformed over the past 30 years, with new ablation techniques, transplantation, targeted radiation and immunotherapy combinations joining what in 1995 was limited to surgery, ethanol injection or one form of embolization. Screening for the disease, by contrast, has barely changed in those three decades.
Hybrid Decentralized Trial Design Helps VA Reach More Prostate Cancer Patients
Fewer than 5% of adult cancer patients in the United States enroll in a clinical trial, and the reasons are familiar to any oncologist: Patients live too far from a research center, the time and cost of frequent visits are simply too much on top of a cancer diagnosis, or the facility where they receive treatment does not participate in trials.
Pentagon to Reimburse Troops for Sperm and Egg Freezing Before Deployment
Nearly 2,000 U.S. troops suffered debilitating injuries to their groins or genitals during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2000 and 2013, and about 307,000 more sustained some type of head injury over the same period, all injuries that can compromise fertility and sexual function.
Active Surveillance Chosen by 93% of Veterans With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
Three decades after the VA and the University of California-San Francisco helped pioneer active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer, the strategy has become the default choice for veterans diagnosed with the disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in JAMA.
VA Whole Health Team Approach Outperforms CBT, Usual Care for Chronic Pain
A large, multisite randomized trial has delivered the first rigorous test of the VA’s Whole Health approach to chronic pain, finding that an interdisciplinary whole-health team modestly outperformed both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and usual care in reducing how much pain interferes with veterans’ daily lives.
Clinicians Question DoD’s Testosterone Screening Mandate
Beyond the political fight over the DoD’s new testosterone screening mandate remains a clinical question: Does population-level screening of a mostly asymptomatic, young military population offer significant benefit or simply raise risk?
VA Community Care Vascular Costs Surge as PAD Referrals Triple, New Data Show
Referrals for vascular surgery through the VA Community Care program nearly tripled over five years, driven overwhelmingly by endovascular interventions for peripheral artery disease, according to a comprehensive cost analysis presented at the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM26) in Boston, June 10–13.
VA Researchers Featured in Dozens of Presentations at ASCO 2026
Studies address DPYD pharmacogenomics, lung cancer eligibility criteria, advance care planning, prostate cancer genomics, fatigue treatment, and more.
CGM Data Predicts Kidney Decline, Cuts ESRD Risk in VA Diabetes Studies
VA researchers also find TBI doubles dementia risk in type 2 diabetes; stress tied to diabetes onset; and metformin linked to slower biological aging
RSV Vaccines Protect Veterans Well But Repeat Jabs Might Be Needed
Because of an older population of veteran patients, many with numerous co-morbidities, the VA recognizes respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as a serious threat. Three RSV vaccines are currently approved for adults in the United States; the latest is an mRNA-based vaccine. While all three have demonstrated meaningful protection against RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD), concerns have been raised about the durability of some of them and whether repeat shots might be required.
Multiple Myeloma Survival Lower Than Previously Reported, but Powerful New Later Line Options Offer Hope
Including survival statistics for the nonmalignant precursor of multiple myeloma (MM), smoldering multiple myeloma, has led to a significant overestimation of 5-year survival patients with MM. But the news is not all bad. Recent approval of powerful new later line options are offering hope for patients who have tried multiple therapies are offering hope for more durable survival.
Cancer Vaccines in Lung Cancer: A New Strategy to Overcome Immunotherapy Resistance
Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) resistance can be caused by tumor evasion mechanisms that prevent T cells from recognizing or killing cancer cells. Cancer vaccines are designed to address those challenges by stimulating the immune system to recognize tumor-specific antigens. Unlike preventive vaccines, these therapeutic approaches can “induce de novo or amplify pre-existing tumor-specific immune responses, thereby enhancing long-term immunological memory while maintaining a favorable safety profile,” according to a new study.