Incidence of colorectal neoplasms among male pilots

AIM: To assess the prevalence of colorectal neoplasms(adenomas, advanced adenomas and colorectal cancers) among Israeli military and commercial airline pilots.METHODS: Initial screening colonoscopy was performed on average-risk(no symptoms and no family history) airline pilots at the Integrated Cancer Prevention Center(ICPC) in the Tel-Aviv Medical Center. Visualized polyps were excised and sent for pathological examination. Advanced adenoma was defined as a lesion >10 mm in diameter, with high-grade dysplasia or villous histology. The results were compared with those of an age- and gender-matched random sample of healthy adults undergoing routine screening at the ICPC.RESULTS: There were 270 pilots(mean age 55.2 ± 7.4 years) and 1150 controls(mean age 55.7 ± 7.8 years). The prevalence of colorectal neoplasms was 15.9% among the pilots and 20.6% among the controls(P = 0.097, χ2 test). There were significantly more hyperplastic polyps among pilots(15.5% vs 9.4%, P = 0.004) and a trend towards fewer adenomas(14.8% vs 20.3% P = 0.06). The prevalence of advanced lesions among pilots and control groups was 5.9% and 4.7%, respectively(P = 0.49), and the prevalence of cancer was 0.7% and 0.69%, respectively(P = 0.93).CONCLUSION: There tends to be a lower colorectal adenoma, advanced adenoma and cancer prevalence but a higher hyperplastic polyp prevalence among pilots than the general population.