Cell phones

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Studies and Reports

  • de Vocht F et al., Time trends (1998–2007) in brain cancer incidence rates in relation to mobile phone use in England, Bioelectromagnetics, n/a. doi: 10.1002/bem.20648.
    • Abstract. "Mobile phone use in the United Kingdom and other countries has risen steeply since the early 1990's when the first digital mobile phones were introduced. There is an ongoing controversy about whether radio frequency (RF) exposure from mobile phones increases the risk of brain cancer. However, given the widespread use and nearly two decades elapsing since mobile phones were introduced, an association should have produced a noticeable increase in the incidence of brain cancer by now. Trends in rates of newly diagnosed brain cancer cases in England between 1998 and 2007 were examined. There were no time trends in overall incidence of brain cancers for either gender, or any specific age group. Systematic increases in rates for cancers of the temporal lobe in men (0.04 new cases/year) and women (0.02/year) were observed, along with decreases in the rates of cancers of the parietal lobe (−0.03/year), cerebrum (−0.02/year) and cerebellum (−0.01/year) in men only. The increased use of mobile phones between 1985 and 2003 has not led to a noticeable change in the incidence of brain cancer in England between 1998 and 2007. The observed increase in the rate of cancers in the temporal lobe, if caused by mobile phone use, would constitute <1 additional case per 100,000 people in that period. These data do not indicate a pressing need to implement a precautionary principle by means of population-wide interventions to reduce RF exposure from mobile phones."
  • Elliott P et al., Mobile phone base stations and early childhood cancers: case-control study, BMJ. 22;340:c3077, June 2010.
    • Conclusion. "There is no association between risk of early childhood cancers and estimates of the mother's exposure to mobile phone base stations during pregnancy."
  • INTERPHONE Study Group, Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case-control study, Int J Epidemiol. 39(3):675-94, June 2010.
    • Conclusion. "Overall, no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed with use of mobile phones. There were suggestions of an increased risk of glioma at the highest exposure levels, but biases and error prevent a causal interpretation. The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation."
  • Ahibom A et al., Epidemiologic evidence on mobile phones and tumor risk: a review, Epidemiology. 20(5):639-52, September 2009.
    • Abstract. "This review summarizes and interprets epidemiologic evidence bearing on a possible causal relation between radiofrequency field exposure from mobile phone use and tumor risk. In the last few years, epidemiologic evidence on mobile phone use and the risk of brain and other tumors of the head in adults has grown in volume, geographic diversity of study settings, and the amount of data on longer-term users. However, some key methodologic problems remain, particularly with regard to selective nonresponse and inaccuracy and bias in recall of phone use. Most studies of glioma show small increased or decreased risks among users, although a subset of studies show appreciably elevated risks. We considered methodologic features that might explain the deviant results, but found no clear explanation. Overall the studies published to date do not demonstrate an increased risk within approximately 10 years of use for any tumor of the brain or any other head tumor. Despite the methodologic shortcomings and the limited data on long latency and long-term use, the available data do not suggest a causal association between mobile phone use and fast-growing tumors such as malignant glioma in adults (at least for tumors with short induction periods). For slow-growing tumors such as meningioma and acoustic neuroma, as well as for glioma among long-term users, the absence of association reported thus far is less conclusive because the observation period has been too short."
  • Schoemaker M and Swerdlow A, Risk of pituitary tumors in cellular phone users: a case-control study, Epidemiology. 20(3):348-54, May 2009.
    • Conclusion. "We found no evidence that the risk of developing pituitary tumors is associated with cellular phone use for the induction time periods and intensities of use observed."
  • Croft R et al., Mobile phones and brain tumours: a review of epidemiological research, Australas Phys Eng Sci Med. 31(4):255-67, December 2008.
    • Abstract. "There has been a great deal of public concern regarding the possibility that the use of mobile phone-related technologies might result in adverse health effects. Corresponding to this, there has been substantial epidemiological research designed to determine whether the use of mobile phones (MP) has any effect on health, and in particular whether it increases the risk of developing head and neck tumours. Such literature is particularly heterogeneous, which makes it difficult to pool in a meta-analysis. This paper thus reviews the epidemiological literature pertaining to the use of mobile phones and mobile phone-related technologies, and head and neck tumours, in an attempt to consolidate the various reports. Although there have been individual reports of associations between MP-use and tumours, this research is not consistent and on balance does not provide evidence of an association. There are reports of small associations between MP-use ipsilateral to the tumour for greater than 10 years, for both acoustic neuroma and glioma, but the present paper argues that these are especially prone to confounding by recall bias. The reported associations are in need of replication with methods designed to minimise such bias before they can be treated as more than suggestive."
  • Takebayashi T et al., Mobile phone use, exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field, and brain tumour: a case-control study, Br J Cancer. 98(3):652-9, February 12, 2008.
    • Abstract. "In a case-control study in Japan of brain tumours in relation to mobile phone use, we used a novel approach for estimating the specific absorption rate (SAR) inside the tumour, taking account of spatial relationships between tumour localisation and intracranial radiofrequency distribution. Personal interviews were carried out with 88 patients with glioma, 132 with meningioma, and 102 with pituitary adenoma (322 cases in total), and with 683 individually matched controls. All maximal SAR values were below 0.1 W kg(-1), far lower than the level at which thermal effects may occur, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for regular mobile phone users being 1.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63-2.37) for glioma and 0.70 (0.42-1.16) for meningioma. When the maximal SAR value inside the tumour tissue was accounted for in the exposure indices, the overall OR was again not increased and there was no significant trend towards an increasing OR in relation to SAR-derived exposure indices. A non-significant increase in OR among glioma patients in the heavily exposed group may reflect recall bias."
  • Kan P et al., Cellular phone use and brain tumor: a meta-analysis, J Neurooncol. 86(1):71-8, January 2008.
    • Conclusion. "We found no overall increased risk of brain tumors among cellular phone users. The potential elevated risk of brain tumors after long-term cellular phone use awaits confirmation by future studies."
  • Otto M and von Muhlendahl K Electromagnetic fields (EMF): do they play a role in children's environmental health (CEH)?, Int J Hyg Environ Health. 210(5):635-44, October 2007.
    • Abstract. "Possible adverse health effects of exposure to electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields (EMF), and especially the question of whether there exists a special vulnerability of children, have been a much discussed topic during the last two decades. Static fields produce health effects only in very rare and exceptional circumstances at extremely high field intensities. As for low-frequency EMF, the results of epidemiological research with respect to childhood leukaemia prompted the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2001 to classify these fields as "possibly carcinogenic to humans". Current hypotheses on the mechanism of such action are presented. The effect, if existent, appears to be not very important in relation to established other causes of childhood leukaemia. High-frequency EMF, as used in mobile and wireless communication (mobile telephony according to the GSM and UMTS standard, cordless DECT phones, wireless local area networks (WLAN), Bluetooth) and since many decades also in radio and television technology, are practically omnipresent. At high intensities, the generation of heat is the principal effect. Current guidelines, limits and regulations prevent any such effect. Mobile phone calls may, in certain circumstances, lead to local exposures close to limit values. Base stations typically produce exposures lower by 2-5 magnitudes. The discussion centres on the so-called non-thermal effects, which are supposedly occurring at field intensities, which are by orders of magnitude lower than those responsible for thermal effects. The reproducibility of these effects is usually poor, and no physiologic or pathogenic mechanism, so far, has been found to explain the alleged effects. Equally, epidemiologic studies have not furnished clear and reproducible data as arguments for negative health effects. Final results of the INTERPHONE study on the risk of brain tumours, acoustic neurinoma and parotid gland tumours associated with the use of mobile phones will be soon available. Preliminary results do not seem to indicate a substantial increase in risk. There are presently no scientific data supporting the concept of a special vulnerability of children and adolescents to high-frequency EMF, even if the usual caveats (developing organisms and structures may be more vulnerable, decades of life to come) are considered. The concept of precautionary measures adapted to such concerns is critically discussed."
  • Klaeboe L et al., Use of mobile phones in Norway and risk of intracranial tumours, Eur J Cancer Prev. 16(2):158-64, April 2007.
    • Abstract. "To test the hypothesis that exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phones increases the incidence of gliomas, meningiomas and acoustic neuromas in adults. The incident cases were of patients aged 19-69 years who were diagnosed during 2001-2002 in Southern Norway. Population controls were selected and frequency-matched for age, sex, and residential area. Detailed information about mobile phone use was collected from 289 glioma (response rate 77%), 207 meningioma patients (71%), and 45 acoustic neuroma patients (68%) and from 358 (69%) controls. For regular mobile phone use, defined as use on average at least once a week or more for at least 6 months, the odds ratio was 0.6 (95% confidence interval 0.4-0.9) for gliomas, 0.8 (95% confidence interval 0.5-1.1) for meningiomas and 0.5 (95% confidence interval 0.2-1.0) for acoustic neuromas. Similar results were found with mobile phone use for 6 years or more for gliomas and acoustic neuromas. An exception was meningiomas, where the odds ratio was 1.2 (95% confidence interval 0.6-2.2). Furthermore, no increasing trend was observed for gliomas or acoustic neuromas by increasing duration of regular use, the time since first regular use or cumulative use of mobile phones. The results from the present study indicate that use of mobile phones is not associated with an increased risk of gliomas, meningiomas or acoustic neuromas."
  • Lahkola A et al., [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17230523 Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in 5 North European countries}, Int J Cancer. 120(8):1769-75, April 15, 2007.
    • Abstract. "Public concern has been expressed about the possible adverse health effects of mobile telephones, mainly related to intracranial tumors. We conducted a population-based case-control study to investigate the relationship between mobile phone use and risk of glioma among 1,522 glioma patients and 3,301 controls. We found no evidence of increased risk of glioma related to regular mobile phone use (odds ratio, OR = 0.78, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.68, 0.91). No significant association was found across categories with duration of use, years since first use, cumulative number of calls or cumulative hours of use. When the linear trend was examined, the OR for cumulative hours of mobile phone use was 1.006 (1.002, 1.010) per 100 hr, but no such relationship was found for the years of use or the number of calls. We found no increased risks when analogue and digital phones were analyzed separately. For more than 10 years of mobile phone use reported on the side of the head where the tumor was located, an increased OR of borderline statistical significance (OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.01, 1.92, p trend 0.04) was found, whereas similar use on the opposite side of the head resulted in an OR of 0.98 (95% CI 0.71, 1.37). Although our results overall do not indicate an increased risk of glioma in relation to mobile phone use, the possible risk in the most heavily exposed part of the brain with long-term use needs to be explored further before firm conclusions can be drawn."
  • Schuz J et al., Cellular telephone use and cancer risk: update of a nationwide Danish cohort, J Natl Cancer Inst. 98(23):1707-13, December 6, 2006.
    • Conclusions. "We found no evidence for an association between tumor risk and cellular telephone use among either short-term or long-term users. Moreover, the narrow confidence intervals provide evidence that any large association of risk of cancer and cellular telephone use can be excluded.
  • Muscat J et al., Mobile telephones and rates of brain cancer, Neuroepidemiology 27(1):55-6. Epub, July 3, 2006.
    • Abstract. "The risk of most primary brain cancers including gliomas and acoustic neuromas is unrelated to the use of mobile telephones in several studies. The long-term effects of mobile phones remain to be determined. An increased risk caused by short-term mobile phone use was reported for neuroepithelial tumors, a rare histologic subgroup of brain cancers that are characterized by neuronal features. We analyzed time trends in the age-adjusted incidence rate of adult neuronal cancers in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program from 1973 to 2002. The rates did not change during this period, despite the exponential increase in mobile phone subscriptions starting in 1984. These results indicate that mobile phone use is unrelated to the risk of neuronal cancers."
  • Schuz J et al., Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted from base stations of DECT cordless phones and the risk of glioma and meningioma (Interphone Study Group, Germany), Radiat Res. 166(1 Pt 1):116-9, July 2006.
    • Abstract. "The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that exposure to continuous low-level radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMFs) increases the risk of glioma and meningioma. Participants in a population-based case-control study in Germany on the risk of brain tumors in relation to cellular phone use were 747 incident brain tumor cases between the ages of 30 and 69 years and 1494 matched controls. The exposure measure of this analysis was the location of a base station of a DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) cordless phone close to the bed, which was used as a proxy for continuous low-level exposure to RF EMFs during the night. Estimated odds ratios were 0.82 (95% confidence interval: 0.29-2.33) for glioma and 0.83 (0.29-2.36) for meningioma. There was also no increasing risk observed with duration of exposure to DECT cordless phone base stations. Although the study was limited due to the small number of exposed subjects, it is still a first indication that residential low-level exposure to RF EMFs may not pose a higher risk of brain tumors."
  • Lahkola A et al., Meta-analysis of mobile phone use and intracranial tumors, Scand J Work Environ Health. 32(3):171-7, June 2006.
    • Conclusion. "The totality of evidence does not indicate a substantially increased risk of intracranial tumors from mobile phone use for a period of at least 5 years."
  • Hepworth S et al., Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in adults: case-control study, BMJ. 332(7546):883-7, April 15, 2006.
    • Conclusion. " Use of a mobile phone, either in the short or medium term, is not associated with an increased risk of glioma. This is consistent with most but not all published studies. The complementary positive and negative risks associated with ipsilateral and contralateral use of the phone in relation to the side of the tumour might be due to recall bias."
  • Schuz J et al., Cellular phones, cordless phones, and the risks of glioma and meningioma (Interphone Study Group, Germany), Am J Epidemiol. 163(6):512-20, March 15, 2006.
    • Abstract. "The widespread use of cellular telephones has generated concern about possible adverse health effects, particularly brain tumors. In this population-based case-control study carried out in three regions of Germany, all incident cases of glioma and meningioma among patients aged 30-69 years were ascertained during 2000-2003. Controls matched on age, gender, and region were randomly drawn from population registries. In total, 366 glioma cases, 381 meningioma cases, and 1,494 controls were interviewed. Overall use of a cellular phone was not associated with brain tumor risk; the respective odds ratios were 0.98 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74, 1.29) for glioma and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.62, 1.13) for meningioma. Among persons who had used cellular phones for 10 or more years, increased risk was found for glioma (odds ratio = 2.20, 95% CI: 0.94, 5.11) but not for meningioma (odds ratio = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.35, 3.37). No excess of temporal glioma (p = 0.41) or meningioma (p = 0.43) was observed in cellular phone users as compared with nonusers. Cordless phone use was not related to either glioma risk or meningioma risk. In conclusion, no overall increased risk of glioma or meningioma was observed among these cellular phone users; however, for long-term cellular phone users, results need to be confirmed before firm conclusions can be drawn."
  • Christensen H et al., Cellular telephones and risk for brain tumors: a population-based, incident case-control study, Neurology. 64(7):1189-95, April 12, 2005.
    • Conclusion. "The results do not support an association between use of cellular telephones and risk for glioma or meningioma."
  • Muscat J et al., Handheld cellular telephones and risk of acoustic neuroma, Neurology. 58(8):1304-6, April 23, 2002.
    • Abstract. "The hypothesis that intracranial energy deposition from handheld cellular telephones causes acoustic neuroma was tested in an epidemiologic study of 90 patients and 86 control subjects. The relative risk was 0.9 (p = 0.07) and did not vary significantly by the frequency, duration, and lifetime hours of use. In patients who used cellular telephones, the tumor occurred more often on the contralateral than ipsilateral side of the head. Further efforts should focus on potentially longer induction periods."
  • Johansen C et al., Mobile phones and malignant melanoma of the eye, Br J Cancer. 86(3):348-9, February 1, 2002.
    • Abstract. "Recently a four-fold increase in the risk of malignant melanoma of the eye was associated with the use of radiofrequency transmitting devices, including mobile phones in Germany. We contrasted the incidence rates of this rare cancer with the number of mobile phone subscribers in Denmark. We observed no increasing trend in the incidence rate of melanoma, which was in sharp contrast to the exponentially increasing number of mobile phone subscribers starting in the early 1980s. Our study provides no support for an association between mobile phones and ocular melanoma."
  • Johansen C et al., Cellular telephones and cancer--a nationwide cohort study in Denmark, J Natl Cancer Inst. 93(3):203-7, February 7, 2001.
    • Conclusions. "The results of this investigation, the first nationwide cancer incidence study of cellular phone users, do not support the hypothesis of an association between use of these telephones and tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers."
  • Muscat J et al., Handheld cellular telephone use and risk of brain cancer, JAMA. 20;284(23):3001-7, December 2000.
    • Conclusion. "Our data suggest that use of handheld cellular telephones is not associated with risk of brain cancer, but further studies are needed to account for longer induction periods, especially for slow-growing tumors with neuronal features."

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