Department of Defense Study Finds Pilots and Crew Face High Cancer Risk

A Department of Defense (DOD) study reviewed cancer data of 156,050 aircrew and 737,891 ground crew between 1992 and 2017 and found highly elevated rates of melanoma, thyroid, prostate, and other types of cancer.

The phase 1 study looked at mainly non-Hispanic White men and women that served in the Air Force and Navy with median follow-up ages of 41 years for aircrew and 26 for ground crew. Researchers compared these individuals to non-military civilians included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program.

Compared to a demographically similar population in the SEER database, aircrew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma, a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer, a 16% higher rate of prostate cancer, and an overall 24% higher rate of cancer for all sites combined.

Ground crews were also at higher risk for most cancers, with a 19% higher rate of brain and nervous system cancer, a 15% higher rate of thyroid cancer, a 9% higher rate of melanoma and kidney/renal pelvis, and an overall 3% higher risk of cancer for all sites combined.

Despite their increased risk of developing cancer, the aircrew had a 56% lower mortality rate for all cancer sites, and ground crews had a 35% lower mortality rate than civilian populations. The lower rates of mortality are consistent with other studies of cancer in members of the military. One reason for the decreased rate is possibly due to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) advanced ability to diagnose cancer early and its successful oncology programs.

Stark findings from the Pentagon study were also limited and likely underreported the number of military cancer cases since it did not include cancer data from the VA. Additionally, the mean follow-up ages were relatively young and may have resulted in an artificially lower cancer rate for military personnel.

The DOD’s phase 1 study is just the start of this research. Under the law, further research is required to identify the carcinogens, operating environments, and unique details that may be responsible for the elevated cancer rates.

“Phase 2 will consist of identifying the carcinogenic toxicants or hazardous materials associated with military flight operations; identifying operating environments that could be associated with increased amounts of ionizing and nonionizing radiation; identifying specific duties, dates of service, and types of aircraft flown that could have increased the risk for cancer; identifying duty locations associated with a higher incidence of cancers; identifying potential exposures due to military service that are not related to aviation; and determining the appropriate age to begin screening military aircrew and ground crew for cancers,” concluded the Pentagon report.