Learn About MACS

Study Summary

Phase 1 of the Study of Incidence of Cancer Diagnosis and Mortality Among Military Aviators and Aviation Support Personnel was a retrospective cohort study performed to determine whether there was a higher incidence of cancer among military aviators and aviation support personnel than in the general U.S. population. The Phase 2 study is required to investigate and identify the occupational and environmental risk factors contributing to the elevated cancer rates identified in Phase 1.

Data Collected

Service members who were selected for the Military Aviators Cancer Study (MACS) have data available through the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS), which includes demographic personnel and medical encounter records from fixed military treatment facilities and civilian care when reimbursed through Tricare. Claims from retired service members insured through Tricare are also included in DMSS records. Cancer cases were identified from the Department of Defense Cancer Registry (DODCR), the Veteran's Affairs Central Cancer Registry (VACCR), as well as the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) for individual state tumor registries. Where possible, the data have been recoded or reconfigured to ease the use of the data.

• Personnel
• Deployment
• Deployment Assessments
• Periodic Health Assessment
• Cancer
• Encounter
• Procedures

Data Tables

Data tables regarding demographics, cancer counts and serum specimen availability.

Serum Samples Collected

At present, over 6 million serum specimens across the 893,941service members have been collected for individuals in the Military Aviators Cancer Study (MACS).

Resources

A collection of resources for the study.