The ROTOR Act directs the Defense Health Agency to study cancer rates among military rotary-wing helicopter pilots and aviation support personnel dating back to 1961. The study, conducted in two phases with the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, will first examine whether twelve specific cancer types (including brain, lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer) occur at higher rates among this group compared to the general population, with results due within one year. If the initial phase finds elevated cancer rates, a second phase will investigate potential causes—such as toxic fumes, fuels, electromagnetic radiation from radar systems, and other hazardous exposures from military service—with those findings due one year later. The bill affects current and former military aviators who receive Department of Defense health benefits and uses existing federal cancer databases to conduct the research, though no specific funding amounts are specified in the legislation.
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