Research Letter
Aircrew members receive the largest mean annual effective dose of ionizing radiation of any occupational group in the US, primarily due to cosmic rays encountered at commercial flight altitudes.1 Potential health consequences of this exposure, including cancer risk, have become a priority for public health experts and federal agencies.2,3 Yet whether occupational radiation exposure among aircrew translates to increased cancer-related mortality remains unclear, as studies have been limited by small numbers of deaths and reliance on selective cohorts or single cancer sites.4,5 We aimed to ascertain whether pilots and flight attendants have elevated risk-adjusted radiation-related cancer mortality compared with other occupations.