Navigation Military Pilots Possibly at Risk for Certain Types of Cancer
Military pilots are getting acknowledgement that they are at higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to the most comprehensive military study to date. The 2021 study, “Cancer Incidence and Mortality Among Fighter Aviators,” was conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing and tracked airmen who had recorded more than 100 flight hours in an Air Force fighter aircraft from 1970 to 2004.
The study found that fighter pilots and their crew were 29 percent more likely to be diagnosed with testicular cancer, 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma, and 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than their non-fighter pilot peers. Further, when compared to the general U.S. population, fighter aviators were 13 percent more likely to be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 25 percent more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma, and 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
