| Support Letter HR.4424 The Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act legislation directing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct an epidemiological study on the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in veterans of the Vietnam era. Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) is a cancer of the biliary duct system which included the gallbladder bile ducts and certain cells inside the liver. One risk factor for bile duct cancer is past infection with tiny parasitic worms called liver flukes which are found in the fresh waters of Southeast Asia. Veterans who ate raw or undercooked freshwater fish during their service in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam veterans might have been infected. Currently there are no available studies to show that bile duct cancer occurs more often in Vietnam veterans than in other groups. HR.4424 can help determine if environmental exposures faced by Vietnam veterans can be linked to bile duct cancer. |