Brain and central nervous system cancer mortality in U. S. rubber workers.

Since 1963 the observed mortality experience of BCNS cancers among rubber workers appears to be very comparable to that expected. A possible exception to this statement is the experience of one plant in Akron, Ohio, reported by Monson and Nakano. Excesses in earlier years may also be localized to one or two companies. The results of a case-control study did not support a hypothesized association of elevated BCNS cancer risk with exposures in the tire building/tire assembly segments of the rubber tire manufacturing process. The direction of future epidemiologic studies would benefit by the assembly of as large a number of cases as possible and should focus on calendar periods of exposure, make allowance for a latent period, and include retrospective industrial hygiene assessments of the specific exposures.