No Increased Brain Cancer Risk from Mobile Phones

by Elias Shams
The World Health Organization (WHO) released data on the largest study to date on whether mobile phone use causes an increased risk of brain cancer, finding yet again the usual results — that there is no increased risk of cancer, but saying more research is needed.

The Interphone Study Group published results of the analyses of brain tumor risk (for glioma and meningioma) related to mobile phone use. The study, which included 2,708 glioma cases and 2,409 meningioma cases, was conducted in 13 countries over a 10-year period.

According to the report, an increased risk of brain cancer is not established from the data from Interphone. However, observations at the highest level of cumulative call time and the changing patterns of mobile phone use since the period studied by Interphone, particularly in young people, mean that further investigation of mobile phone use and brain cancer risk is merited.

The Interphone study will continue with additional analyses of mobile phone use and tumours of the acoustic nerve and parotid gland. Because of concerns about the rapid increase in mobile phone use in young people − who were not covered by Interphone − CREAL is co-ordinating a new project, MobiKids, funded by the European Union, to investigate the risk of brain tumours from mobile phone use in childhood and adolescence.

As with any study, scientific organizations will review the Interphone study in the context of the significant body of research and published literature on the safety of cell phones. CTIA and the wireless industry support continuing efforts of public health specialists and expert scientists in this area.