A new review has found that people working as airplane crew members may be more at risk in developing melanoma.
Melanoma is considered the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Melanoma develops when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells cause mutations, leading to the rapid multiplication of skin cells and the formation of malignant tumors. The National Cancer Institute estimates over 76,000 cases and 10,000 Melanoma deaths a year in the United States.
An analysis which was published online at JAMA Dermatology gathered data from 19 past researches, which included over 266,000 subjects in total. The analysis revealed that the incidence of melanoma was two times higher among airline crew members compared to the general population. Melanoma death rate was also 42 percent greater among this group.
The authors attribute such risk to the heightened ultraviolet radiation exposure experienced by airline crew members at 30,000 feet, which is twice the exposure than on the ground. Airplane window glass can only do so much in blocking this radiation.
According to Dr. Susana Ortiz-Urda, the analysis's senior author, sunscreen protection is very important for airline crew members who are getting considerable exposure to ultraviolet radiation. "Skin checks once a year should be a part of health screening," she added. Dr. Ortiz-Urda is the director of the melanoma center at the University of California in San Francisco.
Dr. Ortiz-Urda and her co-authors acknowledge that the 19 studies they analyzed implemented the observational method. These studies also did not consider skin type as a factor. The authors suggest that fair-skinned people, who are more susceptible to melanoma, comprise a large percentage of people working as airline crew members.
Melanoma is curable if recognized and treated early. Otherwise, it can advance and quickly spread to the rest of the body, making it untreatable and fatal. Melanoma may not be the most common of skin cancers, yet it is the deadliest of them all.