What did the NAS conclude about multiple myeloma in subsequent updates?
New data analyzed for the 1996 update did not change the NAS view that there is a “limited/suggestive association between exposure to herbicides and multiple myeloma.” The 1998 report included the following statements: New studies of Vietnam veterans reported lower than expected MM (multiple myeloma) mortality. The committee has determined that the evidence for this association is limited/suggestive, because individuals in the existing studies (mostly farmers) have, by nature of their occupation, probably been exposed to a range of potentially carcinogenic agents other than herbicides and TCDD. The new data available on MM do not change the committee’s earlier view that there is a limited/suggestive association between exposure to herbicides and multiple myeloma. The 2000 update included the following statement: There is limited/suggestive evidence of an association between exposure to herbicides and multiple myeloma. The evidence regarding association is drawn from earlier occupationa
