Long-term cell phone use increases brain tumor risk, 8 May 2017

According to a recent CDC survey, for the first time more American households have cell phones than land lines. Meanwhile the evidence keeps accruing that long term cell phone use appears to increase brain cancer risk.

In the U.S. the lifetime risk of developing glioma, the most common brain cancer, is between 1 in 200 and 1 in 250. If the risk increased by 40% due to cell phone use, the likelihood of developing glioma during your lifetime would be between 1 in 140 and 1 in 180. If the risk doubles, the lifetime risk of developing glioma would be between 1 in 100 and 1 in 125.

Four reviews of the research on cell phone use and brain tumor risk have been published in peer-reviewed journals in 2017. All of these studies report finding a statistically significant relationship between cell phone use of ten or more years and brain tumor risk especially on the side of the head where the cell phone was predominantly placed during phone calls (i.e., ipsilateral use).

Mobile phone use and glioma risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis
 

“In the final analysis, we observed that there was a statistical association between long-term mobile phone use and glioma risk, suggesting a possible dose-response relationship. No relationship was observed between risk of glioma and any period ipsilateral use of mobile phone which is consistent with the results of previous meta-analyses [4–7]. However, long-term ipsilateral use was associated with increased risk of glioma. Contralateral use was not associated with glioma regardless of the duration of mobile phone use. These findings suggest a possible role of cumulative exposure and regional localization in a potential underlying biological mechanism links mobile phone use with glioma [34, 35]. Limited data exist supporting ipsi/contralateral mobile phone use with glioma, larger and longer studies are required to better characterize this possible link.”  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0175136

Evaluation of Mobile Phone and Cordless Phone Use and Glioma Risk Using the
Bradford Hill Viewpoints from 1965 on Association or Causation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28401165

Mobile phone use and risk for intracranial tumors and salivary gland tumors–A meta-analysis http://ijomeh.eu/Mobile-phone-use-and-risk-for-intracranial-tumors-and-salivary-gland-tumors-A-meta-analysis,63713,0,2.html
Mobile phone use and risk of brain tumors: a systematic review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28213724

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