ID Number		176
Study Type		Epidemiology
Model		900, 1800 MHz (GSM) mobile phone use in Denmark and analysis of cancer incidence and mortality.
Details		Human subjects (n=420,000 cell phone users + controls) in a cohort study in Denmark that subscribed to TeleDanmark Mobile and Sonofon between 1982-1995. The well documented Danish Cancer Registry and Death Registry was used for cancer data. No effects of cell phone use were found associated with any tumor type (brain, CNS, salivary gland, leukemia, eye and a comprehensive analysis of other tumor types). Overall study findings: OR = 0.95; 95% CI 0.81-1.12  brain and CNS cancer, OR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.29-1.49  salivary gland, OR = 0.97; 95% CI 0.78-1.21 - leukemia, OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.44-0.95  10+ yr all cancers (28 cases). In a follow-up study, the original cohort was followed and data extended forward through 2002. The authors again conclude no statistically significant increase in glioma, menningioma, acoustic neuroma, or leukemia. They did show a significant decrease in all brain and CNS tumors in mobile phone users for 10+ years (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.44-0.95 based upon 28 cases). They also report a statistically significant decrease in ipsilateral gliomas in the parietal lobe (OR = 0.58), and a general decrease in smoking related cancers in mobile phone users. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Poulsen et al. 2013 (IEEE #5272): The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified radiofrequency radiation as possibly carcinogenic. Previous studies have focused on intracranial tumors, although the skin receives much radiation. In a nationwide cohort study, 355,701 private mobile phone subscribers in Denmark from 1987 to 1995 were followed up through 2007. We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma by using Poisson regression models adjusted for age, calendar period, educational level, and income. Separate IRRs for head/neck tumors and torso/leg tumors were compared (IRR ratios) to further address potential confounders. We observed no overall increased risk for basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or melanoma of the head and neck. After a follow-up period of at least 13 years, the IRRs for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma remained near unity. Among men, the IRR for melanoma of the head and neck was 1.20 (95% confidence interval: 0.65, 2.22) after a minimum 13-year follow-up, whereas the corresponding IRR for the torso and legs was 1.16 (95% confidence interval: 0.91, 1.47), yielding an IRR ratio of 1.04 (95% confidence interval: 0.54, 2.00). A similar risk pattern was seen among women, though it was based on smaller numbers. In this large, population-based cohort study, little evidence of an increased skin cancer risk was observed among mobile phone users. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Frei et al. 2011 (IEEE #5475): OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of tumours in the central nervous system among Danish mobile phone subscribers. DESIGN: Nationwide cohort study. SETTING: Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: All Danes aged e 30 and born in Denmark after 1925, subdivided into subscribers and non-subscribers of mobile phones before 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risk of tumours of the central nervous system, identified from the complete Danish Cancer Register. Sex specific incidence rate ratios estimated with log linear Poisson regression models adjusted for age, calendar period, education, and disposable income. RESULTS: 358,403 subscription holders accrued 3.8 million person years. In the follow-up period 1990-2007, there were 10,729 cases of tumours of the central nervous system. The risk of such tumours was close to unity for both men and women. When restricted to individuals with the longest mobile phone use--that is, e 13 years of subscription--the incidence rate ratio was 1.03 (95% confidence interval 0.83 to 1.27) in men and 0.91 (0.41 to 2.04) in women. Among those with subscriptions of e 10 years, ratios were 1.04 (0.85 to 1.26) in men and 1.04 (0.56 to 1.95) in women for glioma and 0.90 (0.57 to 1.42) in men and 0.93 (0.46 to 1.87) in women for meningioma. There was no indication of dose-response relation either by years since first subscription for a mobile phone or by anatomical location of the tumour--that is, in regions of the brain closest to where the handset is usually held to the head. CONCLUSIONS: In this update of a large nationwide cohort study of mobile phone use, there were no increased risks of tumours of the central nervous system, providing little evidence for a causal association. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Schuz et al. 2011 (IEEE #5921): Vestibular schwannomas grow in the region within the brain where most of the energy by radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from using mobile phones is absorbed. The authors used 2 Danish nationwide cohort studies, one a study of all adult Danes subscribing for a mobile phone in 1995 or earlier and one on sociodemographic factors and cancer risk, and followed subjects included in both cohorts for occurrence of vestibular schwannoma up to 2006 inclusively. In this study including 2.9 million subjects, a long-term mobile phone subscription of 11 years was not related to an increased vestibular schwannoma risk in men (relative risk estimate ¼ 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.52, 1.46), and no vestibular schwannoma cases among long-term subscribers occurred in women versus 1.6 expected. Vestibular schwannomas did not occur more often on the right side of the head, although the majority of Danes reported holding their mobile phone to the right ear. Vestibular schwannomas in long-term male subscribers were not of larger size than expected. Overall, no evidence was found that mobile phone use is related to the risk of vestibular schwannoma. Because of the usually slow growth of vestibular schwannoma and possible diagnostic delay, further surveillance is indicated.
Findings		No Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		Danish Cancer Society, Denmark - christof@cancer.dk
Funding Agency		MTB, Sweden, Nat'l Res Prog, Denmark
Country		DENMARK
References		Schuz, J et al. J Nat'l Cancer Inst., (2006) 98:1707-1713 Johansen, C et al. J. Nat. Cancer Inst., (2001) 93:203-207 Poulsen, AH et al. Am J Epidemiol., (2013) 178:190-197 Frei, P et al. BMJ., (2011) 343:d6387:-(9 pages) Schüz, J et al. American Journal of Epidemiology., (2011) 174:416-422
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