Reviewing around 19 previous studies about the relationship between melanoma and airline flying, a research team from the University of California, discovered that pilots and airline crew are twice likely to develop the life-threatening skin cancer.
Melanoma is a severe form of skin cancer, affecting over 3 million people in the United States. It is also responsible for 10% of the reported cancer cases in Australia. It is also the main cause of skin cancer death. Almost every hour, at least one person dies from it. The 5-year survival rate increases with early detection. Once it has already metastasized to major organs such as the liver and the lungs, the prognosis goes down to only 16%.
The review covers a period of about 13 years from 1990 and includes at least 260,000 participants. According to the researchers led by UC San Francisco Melanoma Program co-director Susana Ortiz-Urda, the higher risks may be due to the high altitude, where planes fly. Commercial flights, for example, have to go as high as 9,000 meters above the ground. UV radiation, meanwhile, becomes stronger as height also increases. Their chance of dying from this cancer is also higher than the general population at 40%.
The prognosis is worse among airline pilots since they spend most of their time in the cockpit with large windows. A study by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2007 cited that while window shields can block almost 100% of UVB rays, they are not as effective with UVA rays.
Studies about the increased risk of pilots and airline crew to melanoma have been going on for years. In 2000, a group of University of Reykjavik scientists revealed that melanoma cases among airline pilots, especially those that flew across more than 3 time zones, are 25 times more than those of the general population. The study also pointed out that poor lifestyle like lack or disturbed sleep may have caused the increased risk.
