[An instrument for the study of occupationally-induced cancers using mortality statistics: the example of Swiss furniture and foundry workers].

This article presents the conditions necessary for the use of mortality statistics to investigate occupational cancer risks. These include the use of various data sources (linked files for verification of death certificate items, cancer registries for histological information) and the consideration of trends and cohort effects. In such a way, arguments for or against specific causal relations between occupation and disease can be gained.