An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will conduct a study in accordance with the ACES Act of 2025 (PL 119-32) on cancer prevalence and mortality among individuals who served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as an aircrew member of a fixed-wing aircraft including as a pilot, navigator, weapons systems operator, aircraft system operator, or any other crew member who regularly flew in a fixed-wing aircraft beginning in 1990.

In conducting its work, the committee will:

1) identify exposures associated with military occupations of fixed-wing aircraft crew individuals, including relating to chemicals, compounds, agents, and other phenomena;

2) review the literature to determine associations between identified exposures and the incidence or prevalence of overall cancer morbidity and mortality, and increased incidence or prevalence of specific cancers, including:

a) Brain;

b) Colon and rectal;

c) Kidney;

d) Lung;

e) Melanoma;

f) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma;

g) Pancreatic;

h) Prostate;

i) Testicular;

j) Thyroid;

k) Urinary bladder;

l) and other cancers deemed appropriate.

3) evaluate the frequency of cancer morbidity and mortality of the specific cancers in aircrew members who receive care through the Veterans Health Administration, as well as mortality from overall cancer.

To accomplish this task the committee will consider a number of data sources including health care and other administrative databases of the VA, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the individual Services, respectively, National Death Index, and studies conducted under section 750 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021 (PL 116-283; 134 Stat. 3716).

The committee will prepare a report that summarizes findings and conclusions based on the committee’s review of the evidence and make recommendations for additional scientific studies to resolve research gaps relating to cancer prevalence and mortality in military aircrew; potential research designs; and federal collaborators in such research activities.