TULSA, OK — While cancer diagnoses are disproportionately high among VA patients, the cause does not appear to be inadequate screening, according to a new study.
While about 3% of invasive U.S. cancer diagnoses are made at the VA each year, the veteran patients only make up about 1.9% of the U.S. population, according to researchers from the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and colleagues, who add, “Although some research has shown that veterans have higher incidence rates of cancer compared to civilians, evidence is sparse regarding possible disparities in rates of cancer screening between these populations. Thus, the purpose of this study is to compare differences in rates of screening for colorectal, lung, breast, and cervical cancers between current and former U.S. military servicemembers and civilians.”
The study published in Military Medicine used data extracted from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to assess cancer screening rates among current and former U.S. military servicemembers compared to civilians. To do that, the study team collected information from self-reported surveys of when colorectal or lung cancer screening had occurred among all participants and breast and cervical cancer for women participants. Those included in the cervical cancer screening were 25 or older, colon cancer screening were 50 or older and for the breast cancer screening were 40 or older, the last of which was based on recommendations from the American Cancer Society.1
Results indicate that current and former U.S. military servicemembers were 2.6% of recipients of cervical cancer screening analysis, 2.2% for the breast cancer screening analyses, nearly 10% of the lung cancer screening, and 15% of the colorectal cancer (CRC) screening analyses.
“Prevalence of screening was higher for current and former U.S. military servicemembers among lung cancer and CRC,” the authors wrote. “When controlling for age, race, education, and health care coverage, current and former U.S. military servicemembers were statistically more likely to be screened for CRC (ARR: 1.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.07) and lung cancer (ARR: 1.32; 95% confidence interval: 1.15-1.52). The odds of having completed a cervical or breast cancer screening were not significantly different between groups.”
The researchers pointed out that the study was one of the few to have directly compared cancer screening usage among civilians and current and former military servicemembers. Veterans and servicemembers were found to be more likely to receive several cancer screenings, according to the authors, who advise that “improvements can still be made to remove barriers and increase screening usage due to the disproportionate rates of cancer mortality in this population. These solutions should be comprehensive-addressing personal, organizational, and societal barriers-to improve prognosis and survival rates among current and former U.S. military servicemembers.”
- Weygandt J, Robling K, Whitaker LA, McPherson K, Hartwell M, Greiner B. Cancer Screening Among Current and Former U.S. Military Personnel Compared to Civilians: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Mil Med. 2021 Dec 4:usab439. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usab439. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34865108.