Child Mobile Phone Users And Non Users Run Same Brain Cancer Risk

A person aged from 7 to 19 who regularly uses a mobile phone does not have a statistically significantly higher risk of developing brain tumors compared to children of the same age who have no cell phones, researchers from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basle, Switzerland reported in theJournal of the National Cancer Institute.

Over the last few years, the proportion of children who have mobile phones has increased considerably all over the world. Parents, scientists and health care professionals have become increasingly concerned about potentially unknown health risks for kids, such as the risk of developing brain cancer. A child, unlike an adult, has a developing nervous system. As children have smaller heads than adults, there is also concern that radio frequency electromagnetic fields might penetrate further into their brains.

To date, no study has investigated whether mobile phone use among children is linked to brain tumor risk.

Martin Röösli, Ph.D. and team set out to find out whether there might be a relationship between mobile phone usage and brain tumor risk among children and teenagers. They gathered data from the medical records of brain tumor patients aged 7 to 19 years. Details regarding their mobile phone usage were sought during face-to-face interviews. They also collected information from providers of phone networks.

The study participants came from Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, and involved 352 with brain cancer and 646 healthy controls. The likelihood of developing a brain cancer was "not statistically significantly more" among the mobile phone users, compared to those who did not have one.

• 73% (265) of those with brain cancer reported having used a mobile phone at least 20 times before their diagnosis.
• 72.1% of the healthy control subjects reported having used a mobile phone least 20 times during the same average period.
• 55% (194) of those with brain tumors said they were regular mobile phone users.
• 51% of the healthy control subjects said they were regular mobile phone users.
• Even among the highest mobile phone users, no association with a greater risk of developing brain cancer could be found.

The authors wrote:

"Because we did not find a clear exposure-response relationship in most of these analyses, the available evidence does not support a causal association between the use of mobile phones and brain tumors."

Even so, the researchers advise careful monitoring - mobile phone usage among this age group has increased significantly over the last few years.

John D Boice, Jr., ScD. and Robert E. Tarone, PhD., of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Maryland and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee wrote:

"(Röösli and team) . . . "have filled an important gap in knowledge by showing no increased risk of brain tumors among children and adolescents who are regular cell phone users"

Brain cancer rates in the USA and several other industrialized nations have not changed over the last two decades among adults, children or teenagers, the authors explained. This is reassuring, despite a huge increase in mobile phone usage.

They agree with the study researchers that incidence rates should continue to be monitored closely. They point out at that individuals who are concerned about exposure have the option of using the device's speakerphone, or using an earpiece. They add that proven hazards of mobile phone usage should be heeded, such as driving while talking or texting, which is known to raise the risk of having an automobile accident or running a pedestrian over.

"Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumors in Children and Adolescents: A Multicenter Case-Control Study"

Denis Aydin, Maria Feychting, Joachim Schüz, Tore Tynes, Tina Veje Andersen, Lisbeth Samsø Schmidt, Aslak Harbo Poulsen, Christoffer Johansen, Michaela Prochazka, Birgitta Lannering, Lars Klæboe, Tone Eggen, Daniela Jenni, Michael Grotzer, Nicolas Von der Weid, Claudia E. Kuehni and Martin Röösli
J Natl Cancer Inst (2011) doi: 10.1093/jnci/djr244

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today