Epidemiological study (observational study)

Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in 5 North European countries epidem.

By: Lahkola A, Auvinen A, Raitanen J, Schoemaker MJ, Christensen HC, Feychting M, Johansen C, Klaeboe L, Lönn S, Swerdlow AJ, Tynes T, Salminen T

Published in: Int J Cancer 2007; 120 (8): 1769-1775

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Aim of study (acc. to author)

The collaborative population-based case-control study was conducted in five North European countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Southeast England) to investigate the possible association of glioma with use of mobile phones.
This study is part of the INTERPHONE project.

Further details

The Swedish, Danish and British studies have been published previously (publication 11648, publication 11887, and publication 13154). Furthermore, the authors recently reported also a collaborative analysis of acoustic neuromas based on these studies (publication 12419).
Regular use of a mobile phone was defined as at least once a week for at least six months.

Endpoint/type of risk estimation

brain tumor: glioma

Type of risk estimation:

incidence

(odds ratio (OR))

Exposure

- mobile communications
- mobile phone
- analog mobile phone
- digital mobile phone
- personal

Assessment

Type of assessment: Individual
interview: mobile phone use, including start and end dates of use, types of phones used and the frequency of use, laterality, use of hands-free equipment, and other circumstances of use such as type of telephone network
calculation: lifetime cumulative numbers of hours of phone use and numbers of calls

Exposure groups

Group	Description
Reference group 1	never or nonregular use
Group 2	regular use
Group 3	years since first use: 1.5-4
Group 4	years since first use: 5-9
Group 5	years since first use: ≥10
Group 6	lifetime years of use: 0.5-4
Group 7	lifetime years of use: 5-9
Group 8	lifetime years of use: ≥ 10
Group 9	cumulative number of calls: < 2172
Group 10	cumulative number of calls: 2172-7792
Group 11	cumulative number of calls: > 7792
Group 12	cumulative hours of use: < 125
Group 13	cumulative hours of use: 125-503
Group 14	cumulative hours of use: > 503
Group 15	cumulative number of calls by time since first use: < 10 years
Group 16	cumulative number of calls by time since first use: ≥ 10 years (≤ 1512 calls)
Group 17	cumulative number of calls by time since first use: ≥ 10 years (> 1512 calls)
Group 18	cumulative hours of use by time since first use: < 10 years
Group 19	cumulative hours of use by time since first use: ≥ 10 years (≤ 75 hours)
Group 20	cumulative hours of use by time since first use: ≥ 10 years (> 75 hours)
Group 21	analogue phone use
Group 22	digital phone use
Reference group 23	nonregular use or contralateral side of tumor and phone use
Group 24	ipsilateral, years since first use: 1.5-4
Group 25	ipsilateral, years since first use: 5-9
Group 26	ipsilateral, years since first use: ≥10
Reference group 27	nonregular use or ipsilateral side of tumor and phone use
Group 28	contralateral, years since first use: 1.5-4
Group 29	contralateral, years since first use: 5-9
Group 30	contralateral, years since first use: ≥10

Population

Group:
- men
- women
Age: 20–69 years
Observation period: September 1999 - February 2004
Study location: Denmark, Finland (excluding Northern Lapland and Aland), Norway (the Southern and Middle parts), Sweden (Umea, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Lund regions), United Kingdom (Thames region of Southeast England)

Case group

Characteristics: glioma
Data source: neurosurgery, oncology, and neurology departments in the study areas, cancer registries

Control group

Selection:
- population-based
- registry-based
Matching:
- sex
- age
- area

Study size

	Cases	Controls
Eligible	2,530	6,581
Participants	1,521	3,301
Participation rate	60 %	50 %

Statistical analysis method:

conditional logistic regression

(adjustment:

5-year age group
sex
residential area
country

)

Results (acc. to author)

No evidence of increased risk of glioma related to regular mobile phone use was found. No significant association was found across categories with duration of use, years since first use, cumulative number of calls or cumulative hours of use. No increased risks was found when analogue and digital phones were analyzed separately.
An increased risk for tumour ipsilateral to side of phone use was found for more than 10 years of mobile phone use (group 26). The indication of increased risk in relation to reported ipsilateral mobile phone use for more than 10 years duration may be due to either chance or causal effect or information bias.

Study funded by

Academy of Finland
Doctoral Programs for Public Health (DPPH), Finland
Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Finland
European Union (EU)/European Commission
GSM Association, UK/Ireland
International Union against Cancer (UICC; Union Internationale Contre le Cancer), Switzerland
Mobile Manufacturers Forum (MMF), Belgium
Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR), UK
Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources program of European Union
Swedish Research Council (VR)

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