Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on January 16, 2007
Occupational Medicine 2007 57(3):186-190; doi:10.1093/occmed/kql171
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A cohort mortality and cancer incidence survey of recent entrants (1982–91) to the UK rubber industry: findings for 1983–2004
1 British Tyre Manufacturers' Association Limited, 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3JE, UK
2 Occupational Health and Screening Services, Cleeton Court, Cleeton St Mary, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY14 0QZ, UK
3 Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Aim To monitor the occurrence of cancer in a recently defined cohort of UK rubber workers.
Methods A cohort of 8651 male and female workers from 41 UK rubber factories has been enumerated. All employees had a minimum of 12 months employment and were first employed at one of the participating factories in the period 1982–91. Mortality and cancer incidence data for the period 1983–2004 were compared with expected values based on appropriate national rates.
Results Mortality from lung cancer was close to expectation for males [observed 22, standardized mortality ratio (SMR) 93] and females (observed 2, SMR 70). Mortality from stomach cancer was also unexceptional in males (observed 4, SMR 86) and females (observed 0, SMR 0). Although based on small numbers, significantly elevated mortality was shown for multiple myeloma in males (observed 5, SMR 385) and females (observed 2, SMR 952). All seven of these latter deaths occurred in workers from the general rubber goods (GRG) sector.
Conclusions The findings should be treated with caution as they relate to a relatively early period of follow-up. Nevertheless, they hold out the prospect that the elevated SMRs for stomach and lung cancers reported for historical cohorts of UK rubber workers will not be present in more recent cohorts. The elevated occurrence of multiple myeloma may represent no more than a chance finding. Alternatively, these findings may reflect the presence of an unrecognized occupational cancer hazard in parts of the GRG sector of the UK rubber industry.
Keywords Cohort study; lung cancer; multiple myeloma; rubber workers; stomach cancer
Correspondence to: Abid Dost, British Tyre Manufacturers' Association Ltd, 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3JE, UK. Tel: +44 20 7457 5040; fax: +44 20 7972 9008; e-mail: adost{at}btmauk.com