Epidemiological study (observational study)

Mobile phone use and brain tumours in the CERENAT case-control study epidem.

By: Coureau G, Bouvier G, Lebailly P, Fabbro-Peray P, Gruber A, Leffondre K, Guillamo JS, Loiseau H, Mathoulin-Pelissier S, Salamon R, Baldi I

Published in: Occup Environ Med 2014; 71 (7): 514-522

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Aim of study (acc. to author)

A case-control study was conducted in France to study the association between brain tumors and mobile phone use.

Further details

CERENAT is a multicenter population-based case-control study initiated in 2004 and designed to study the role of environmental and occupational factors in the occurrence of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors in adults in France.
Regular mobile phone use is defined as mobile phone use more than once a week for 6 month or more.

Endpoint/type of risk estimation

brain tumor: glioma and meningioma

Type of risk estimation:

incidence

(odds ratio (OR))

Exposure

- mobile communications
- mobile phone
- occupational
- personal

Assessment

questionnaire: regular mobile phone use, phone model (analogue or digital); beginning and end dates of use; average number and duration of calls per month; shared or individual use; occupational or personal use; hands-free kit use
calculation: cumulative lifetime duration of calls (hours) and cumulative lifetime number of calls

Exposure groups

Group	Description
Reference group 1	regular mobile phone use: no
Group 2	regular mobile phone use: yes
Group 3	time since first use: no regular use
Group 4	time since first use: 1 - 4 years
Group 5	time since first use: 5 - 9 years
Group 6	time since first use: ≥10 years
Reference group 7	average calling time: no regular use
Group 8	average calling time: < 2 hours/month
Group 9	average calling time: 2 - 4 hours/month
Group 10	average calling time: 5 - 14 hours/month
Group 11	average calling time: ≥ 15 hours/month
Reference group 12	cumulative duration of calls: no regular use
Group 13	cumulative duration of calls: < 43 hours
Group 14	cumulative duration of calls: 43 - 112 hours
Group 15	cumulative duration of calls: 113 - 338 hours
Group 16	cumulative duration of calls: 339 - 895 hours
Group 17	cumulative duration of calls: ≥ 896 hours
Reference group 18	cumulative number of calls: no regular use
Group 19	cumulative number of calls: < 660
Group 20	cumulative number of calls: 660 - 2219
Group 21	cumulative number of calls: 2220 - 7349
Group 22	cumulative number of calls: 7350 - 18359
Group 23	cumulative number of calls: ≥ 18360

Population

Group:
- men
- women
Age: ≥ 16 years
Observation period: June 2004 - May 2006
Study location: France (Gironde, Calvados, Manche, Hérault)

Case group

Characteristics: patients with glioma or meningioma
Data source: network of practitioners involved in diagnosis and therapeutic management, cancer registries
Exclusion criteria: patients recurrent tumors, metastases, pituitary tumors, genetic syndrome or AIDS

Control group

Selection:
- population-based
Matching:
- sex
- age
- area
- case:control = 1:2

Study size

	Cases	Controls
Participants	596	1,192
Participation rate	73 %	45 %
Evaluable	447	892

Other:

253 patients with glioma and 194 patients with meningioma

Statistical analysis method:

conditional logistic regression

(adjustment:

education
ionising radiation exposure

)

Results (acc. to author)

No association between brain tumors and mobile phone use was found when comparing regular mobile phone users with non-users (OR 1.24, CI 0.86-1.77 for gliomas; OR 0.90, CI 0.61-1.34 for meningiomas). However, the positive association was statistically significant in the heaviest users when considering life-long cumulative duration (≥ 896 h, OR 2.89; CI 1.41-5.93 for gliomas; OR 2.57; CI 1.02-6.44 for meningiomas) and number of calls for gliomas (≥ 18,360 calls, OR 2.10, CI 1.03-4.31). Among heavy mobile phone users (≥ 896 h) increased risks were observed for gliomas (OR 2.89, CI 1.41-5.93), temporal tumors (OR 3,94, CI 0.81-19.08), occupational use (OR 3.27, CI 1.45-7.35) and urban mobile phone use (OR 8.20, CI 1.37-49.07).
The authors conclude that the results of the present study support previous findings concerning a possible association between heavy mobile phone use and brain tumors.

Study funded by

Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail (ANSES; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety), France
Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC), France
Fondation de France
Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), France
La Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Paris, France

Comments on this article

Coureau G et al. (2015): Author's response: Re 'Mobile phone use and brain tumours in the CERENAT case-control study'
Hardell L et al. (2015): Re: Mobile phone use and brain tumours in the CERENAT case-control study

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