Nearly 200 cancer cases surface among missileers in Air Force study

Early data in a sweeping study of potential cancers in the Air Force’s nuclear missile community revealed fewer cases of most forms of the disease than expected, the service said Wednesday. But it cautioned a deeper dive is necessary before drawing any conclusions.

The first phase of the Air Force’s analysis, which analyzed the electronic medical records of more than 2.2 million airmen who were treated at military medical facilities from 2001 to 2021, revealed 198 cancer cases among the missile community and 5,063 cases across the Air Force at large, according to data provided to reporters in early March.

Officials had expected to find a total of 800 cancer cases among the missile community, according to an Air Force memo written by Col. Tory Woodard, commander of the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, which is running the study.