Adult brain cancer is a rapidly lethal disease, and there are complex and diverse theories regarding its etiology. In North Carolina there is an increased interest in the association between cancer and environmental exposures. In the years from 1980 to 1997, age-adjusted mortality rates of brain/other central nervous system (CNS) cancers have ranged from 3.0 to 4.9 deaths per 100,000 people (1970 U.S. standard population). During 1997 in North Carolina, 383 people ages 20 and older died from malignant brain and central nervous system neoplasms.

Two issues were examined:

1. Misclassification of brain cancer deaths, and
2. Occupations/industries associated with brain cancer mortality in North Carolina.

This study found:

• 7.5% of the brain cancer deaths were misclassified.
• Only 43.6% of the employment information on the Central Cancer Registry records agreed with the information on the matching death certificates.
• A number of occupations and industries demonstrated increased risk of brain cancer mortality in North Carolina.