The analysis released Thursday by the Institute of Medicine makes the first connection between the childhood disease and the pesticide. It stops short of saying the link is conclusive.

Anthony J. Principi, U.S. secretary of veterans affairs, called the report "very serious."

"I'm deeply concerned about the implications for the children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange," Principi said in a telephone interview.

He said President George W. Bush has directed him to prepare legislation to provide assistance for children with the disease.

"No firm evidence links exposure to the herbicides with most childhood cancers, but new research does suggest that some kind of connection exists between (acute myelogenous leukemia) in children and their fathers' military service in Vietnam or Cambodia," said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina.

Acute myelogenous leukemia is a fast-spreading form o originates n bone-marrow cells. It accounts for about eight% of all childhood cancers, the report said.

Hertz-Picciotto was chair of the institute committee that prepared the new report: "Veterans and Agent Orange, Update 2000."

The report is the most recent in a series by the institute at the effects of the herbicides used in Vietnam.

During Vietnam, thousands of veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a defoliant used to clear areas of jungle so the Viet Cong could be seen and at The new study also reaffirms earlier findings linking herbicide exposure with the development of soft tissue cancer, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chloracne in veterans.

The committee said it based its finding on two studies published last year.

While the studies lacked a direct measure of exposure to the herbicides, both were conducted with Vietnam veterans and an association was indicated with childhood AML, though not other forms of childhood leukemia.

One study, for example, looked at 50,000 Australian veterans of the Vietnam War. It found 13 cases of AML in their children, while in a normal population that size the number of cases expected would be between zero and six.

The strongest link was seen in children who developed the disease at the youngest ages, which suggests that the cause may stem from a parent, the report added.

In addition, a third study found that childhood development of AML was more likely in the offspring of men who use pesticides or herbicides in their work.

The committee listed the connection as suggestive rather than conclusive, saying that the evidence wasn't strong enough to be sure that chance or other factors didn't influence the results.

Previous studies evaluated by the institute have found suggestive but not conclusive evidence of a link between herbicide exposure and respiratory cancers, prostate cancer, type two diabetes, spina bifida in children and other conditions.

The National Academy of Sciences is an independent research organization chartered by Congress to provide advice to the government on scientific and medical topics.

On the Net:

Institute of Medicine: http://national-academies.org

Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov

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