Pilots are at high risk of developing and dying from melanoma because of their constant exposure to UVA (ultraviolet A) radiation.

A study published in JAMA Dermatology revealed that airline pilots are 2.22 times more like to develop skin cancer than an average person. Flight crews are 2.09 times more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma, which is a type of skin cancer.

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The study that sought to verify the gravity of the danger from melanoma was conducted by UC San Francisco researchers and involved 266,431 participants that took part in 19 different published studies.

It found the melanoma risk in airline pilots and flight crews is more than double that of the average population.

The risk was attributed to the fact that working in an environment about 40,000 feet from the ground made air crews more prone to exposure to ultraviolet rays and cosmic radiation.

Pilots are 83 percent more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer. For the cabin crews, the risk was 10 percent lower.

According to the authors of the study, cosmic ray exposure is unlikely to be responsible for melanoma.

Studies previously revealed the amount of cosmic radiation entering the plane is "below the allowed dose limit within a year."

Short wavelength ultraviolet light (UVB) was also discounted as the reason for melanomas since the radiation can't penetrate glass.

The study revealed that UVA or long wavelength ultraviolet radiation is the main reason why people that fly often are at a high risk of acquiring melanoma.

UVA is able to penetrate aircraft windshields. An increased dose or constant exposure to UVA causes cells to mutate. This mutation can eventually lead to cancer.

The research confirmed the more hours a flight crew member spends in the air, the higher his chance of getting melanoma.

Melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, said the National Cancer Institute. Out of 76,100 Americans who will be afflicted by cancer, nearly 9,710 will succumb to it.

Tagsmelanoma, pilot, Skin Cancer, airline, flight crew