Epidemiological study (observational study)

Mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers: prospective study epidem.

By: Benson VS, Pirie K, Schüz J, Reeves GK, Beral V, Green J

Published in: Int J Epidemiol 2013; 42 (3): 792-802

Aim of study (acc. to author)

The association between mobile phone use and incidence of intracranial central nervous system tumors and other cancers was investigated in a UK prospective cohort.

Endpoint/type of risk estimation

leukemia and lymphoma: non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, and leukaemia
brain tumor: glioma, meningioma, pituitary tumor, acoustic neuroma
breast cancer
other head and neck tumors; cancer of oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, pancreas, lung, melanoma, cancer of endometrium, ovary, kidney, bladder, eye, and thyroid

Type of risk estimation:

incidence

(relative risk (RR))

Exposure

- mobile communications
- mobile phone
- personal

Assessment

questionnaire: use of mobile phone, duration of use

Exposure groups

Group	Description
Reference group 1	mobile phone use: never
Group 2	mobile phone use: ever
Group 3	mobile phone use: daily
Group 4	duration of use: ≥ 10 years

Population

Group:
- women
Age: ≥ 50 years
Characteristics: women participating in the Million Women Study initiated by the UK National Health Service (NHS) Breast Screening Programme
Observation period: 1996 - 2009, baseline survey on mobile phone use 1999 - 2005, follow-up in 2009
Study location: UK
Data source: UK National Health Service (NHS) Breast Screening Programme, NHS Central Register, Hospital Episodes Statistics, Scottish Morbidity Records

Study size

Type	Value
Total	1,300,000
Eligible	791,710

Statistical analysis method:

Cox proportional regressions analysis

Results (acc. to author)

During an average of 7 years' follow-up, 51,680 incident invasive cancers and 562 incident non-invasive intracranial CNS tumors occurred among 791,710 middle-aged women.
Risk among women who ever used a mobile phone compared to women who never used a mobile phone was not increased for all intracranial CNS tumors (RR 1.01, CI 0.90-1.14), for specified CNS tumor types nor for cancer at 18 other specified sites. For long-term users compared with never users, there was no appreciable association for glioma (≥ 10 years: RR 0.78, 0.55-1.10) or meningioma (≥ 10 years: RR 1.10, CI 0.66-1.84). For acoustic neuroma, there was an increase in risk with long term use vs never use (≥ years: RR 2.46, CI 1.07-5.64), the risk increasing with duration of use (trend among users, P 0.03). National incidence data showed no overall increase in the incidence of acoustic neuroma in either men or women at ages 20-79 years in England from 1998 to 2008.
The authors concluded that mobile phone use was not associated with increased incidence of glioma, meningioma or non-CNS cancers in this large prospective study.

Study funded by

Cancer Research UK
Medical Research Council, UK
National Health Service Breast Screening Programme, UK

Comments on this article

de Vocht F (2014): The case of acoustic neuroma: Comment on: Mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers
Benson VS et al. (2014): Authors' response to: The case of acoustic neuroma: comment on mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers

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