Burn Pit Exposure in Veterans: A Cancer Screening Pilot Study at the Inova Saville Cancer Screening & Prevention Center

Military personnel may face a multitude of occupational exposures, including fumes from toxic burn pits, which are areas dedicated to waste disposal via open-air combustion of trash and other materials. The smoke emissions from anthropogenic or industrial sources, like burn pits, contain more toxic chemicals than biogenic emissions from natural sources, which raises concern about the health effects of long-term exposure. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has released a list of cancers including nine rare respiratory cancers presumptively linked to burn pit exposure among veterans, demonstrating the potential significance of the health effects from these exposures.

The current research surrounding the short- and long-term effects of burn pit exposure and its association with various cancers is limited. The primary objectives of this pilot study are:  1) determine the feasibility and participant satisfaction associated with a more intensive cancer screening regimen in this population; 2) describe the clinical and psychosocial impact such screening has on this potential population; and 3) describe the premalignant and malignant findings identified and follow-up healthcare utilization associated with high-intensity cancer screening during the approximately 3-year study period (three annual screening assessments and an additional year of follow-up to determine participants' cancer status). As an exploratory objective, we will also describe the performance of novel investigative tools (nasal brush, multi-cancer detection blood test, and radiomic analysis) in detecting the development of malignancies during the study period.

For more information, visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07485322

Inova Schar Cancer (A division of Inova Fairfax Hospital)
Saville Screening and Prevention Center
8081 Innovation Park Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031

Inova Fairfax Hospital
3300 Gallows Road
Falls Church, VA 22042

• Age ≥ 35 years

• Veteran of the United States Armed Forces (retired/no longer enlisted) with a prior deployment resulting in exposure (based on self-report or official records, if available) to burn pits for >1 week (exposure defined as on the base or close enough to the base to see the smoke from the burn pit, an area of land used for the open-air combustion of trash and other solid waste products)

• Able to understand and willing to sign informed consent

• Able to understand and willing to sign HIPAA Authorization

• Additional eligibility in protocol

• Pregnancy
• History of malignancy within the past 5 years (non-melanoma skin cancer and in situ carcinoma would still be eligible)
• Not currently undergoing screening for potential cancer
• Other exclusion criteria in protocol