EDITORIAL

Epidemiology

Cancer incidence in airline cabin crew

E A Whelan

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr E A Whelan
4676 Columbia Parkway, R-15 Cincinnati, OH, USA; ewhelan@cdc.gov

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Evidence that flight crew are at increased risk for certain types of cancer is growing although epidemiological evidence remains inconclusive

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Keywords: UV radiation; cabin crew; cancer incidence; cosmic radiation

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Recent reports highlighting increased cancer incidence and mortality among airline pilots and cabin crew have raised concerns about potential exposure of these workers to known or suspected carcinogens, in particular cosmic ionising radiation. Higher radiation dose rates are found at higher altitudes and in the polar regions, and mean doses to flight crew have been increasing over time as longer flights at higher altitudes have become more frequent. Other possible hazards that may play a role in cancer risk for flight crew include irregular working hours and disturbances of circadian rhythm. Epidemiological studies of mortality and cancer incidence in flight crew have been reviewed recently,^1,2 but in the past 2–3 years, 10 new studies of pilots or cabin crew have been published, the majority of which result from a combined effort underway by the European Community. These studies include three mortality studies^3–5 and seven cancer incidence studies.^6–12 Overall, the . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Buja, A., Lange, J. H, Perissinotto, E., Rausa, G., Grigoletto, F., Canova, C., Mastrangelo, G. (2005). Cancer incidence among male military and civil pilots and flight attendants: an analysis on published data. Toxicol Ind Health 21: 273-282 [Abstract]