In a first for France’s aviation industry, a court in Bayonne has recognised breast cancer as an occupational disease.
asserted
court → recognise → disease
The landmark ruling came in July this year after Sophie Lainault, a former flight attendant who is now in cancer remission, took her case to court.
asserted
who → come → court
Inside the landmark ruling
The ruling, seen by Agence France-Presse, recognised the occupational origin of Ms. Lainault’s cancer.
asserted
ruling → see → cancer
The court highlighted the role of night shifts, exposure to ionising radiation at high altitudes and passive smoking, finding that these factors could have contributed to Ms. Lainault’s breast cancer.
uncertain
factors → highlight → cancer
It also noted the absence of any genetic or lifestyle-related factors that could otherwise explain the cancer.
uncertain
that → note → cancer
Also read| The many lives of breast cancer: understanding rare subtypes
The 59-year-old had accumulated 12,600 flight hours, 6,500 of them at night, between 1989 and 2019 for Air France.
asserted
old → understand → France
She initially worked as a flight attendant and later as a purser on long-haul flights for the country’s flagship airline.
asserted
She → work → airline
Smoking was permitted on its flights until 2000.
asserted
Smoking → permit → 2000
Recalling her struggles to AFP, Ms. Lainault said she fought for two-and-a-half years, with help from activists from the CFDT (French Democratic Confederation of Labour), to secure recognition.
asserted
she → recall → recognition
Before this verdict, two regional committees that recognise occupational diseases had concluded that no link had been established in her case.
asserted
link → recognise → case
The ruling will allow her to take early retirement, she said.
asserted
she → allow → retirement
The verdict also ensures that any further treatment she may require will be fully reimbursed by the French health authorities, BBC News reported.
uncertain
News → ensure → authorities
Ms. Lainault’s lawyer, Elisabeth Leroux, said the court’s decision sets a legal precedent.
asserted
decision → say → precedent
“In France the link between breast cancer and certain hazards has been established for a number of professions, such as nurses… but this is the first time for an airhostess.”
asserted
this → establish → airhostess
Previously, in 2023, another French breast cancer survivor, a nurse, underwent a similar legal battle.
asserted
survivor → undergo → battle
She had worked night shifts for 28 years.
asserted
She → work → years
Her fight led to the court recognising her cancer as an occupational disease.
asserted
court → lead → disease
Many scientific studies have examined links between long-term night work, circadian disruption and exposure to ionising radiation and an increased risk of certain cancers.
asserted
studies → examine → cancers
A study published on August 17 this year in JAMA Internal Medicine found that flight attendants and pilots in the United States had the highest and second-highest proportions of deaths from radiation-related cancers among the 503 occupations studied.
asserted
attendants → publish → occupations
The team, led by first author Vishal Patel, an HMS clinical fellow in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, examined nearly 13 million U.S. death certificates from 2020 to 2024, covering 503 occupations, including 14,000 pilots and 7,000 flight attendants.
asserted
team → lead → pilots
About 6.9% of deaths among flight attendants and 6.7% of deaths among pilots were from radiation-related cancers, according to the analysis.
uncertain
% → relate → analysis
These proportions were higher than those for any of the other jobs that were studied, including nuclear technologists, who are routinely exposed to radiation from non-cosmic sources, according to Harvard Medical School.
uncertain
who → study → School
Aircrew members are also more likely to be diagnosed with certain cancers than the general population, it says.
asserted
it → diagnose → population
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aircrew accrue an estimated 3 to 6 millisieverts per year of cosmic radiation, depending on flight paths, an order of magnitude above the estimated 0.4 millisieverts received annually by an average air traveller taking 10 cross-country round trips a year.
uncertain
aircrew → accord → trips
According to the AFP report, breast cancer is the deadliest cancer among women in France, causing nearly 13,000 deaths each year.
uncertain
cancer → accord → deaths
The World Health Organization estimates that breast cancer caused about 6,94,000 deaths worldwide in 2024.
asserted
cancer → estimate → 2024
The French court’s recognition also highlights a wider debate over the health risks associated with night jobs.
asserted
recognition → highlight → jobs
Before the ruling in July, Denmark had also officially recognised breast cancer as an occupational disease linked to long-term night work.
asserted
Denmark → recognise → work
Indian labour laws do not directly address health issues linked to circadian rhythm disruption caused by years of night-shift work.
asserted
laws → address → work
Ms. Lainault hopes her legal victory will help other women in the future.
asserted
victory → hop → future
“It is truly my dearest wish that this opens the way for other women who might not have dared until now,” she said to AFP.
uncertain
she → open → AFP
The Aporia
