ID Number		220
Study Type		Epidemiology
Model		800, 1900 MHz (FM, GSM, CDMA) mobile phone use and correlation with glioblastoma, astrocytoma, acoustic neuroma
Details		Human subjects (n=450 brain tumor patients) were analyzed using a case-control design to determine whether malignant glioblastoma and acoustic neuroma brain tumor incidence could be linked in any way with cellular telephone use. Questionaires covering health issues and cellular telephone usage were administered to assign patients to frequent, occasional, or non user groups in terms of cellular telephone use. Additional information was gathered on the use of portable household phones and car telephones since these items could be potential confounders. Control patients in the study included men and women without brain cancer, but who were hospitalised for conditions unrelated to exposure to radiofrequency fields (the control group did not include leukemia and lymphoma patients). The collaborating physicians and hospitals included Dr. Malkin, Memorial Sloan Ketting Cancer Center; Dr. Frederic Golumb, New York University Medical Center; Dr. Mel Epstein, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence R.I. and Dr. Michael Huncharek, Massachusetts General Hospital. Data presented at the WTR 2nd State of the Science Colloquium by Dr. Joshua Muscat showed no correlation between malignant brain tumors or acoustic neuromas and wireless phone use, although a non-significant but seemingly dose-dependent elevation of rare neuroepithelioma (non malignant tumors often developing in or near the ventricles) was noted in the case group. Many of these neuroepitheliomas, however, were diagnosed by a single pathologist. An analysis of temporally localized tumors did not support the speculation by Hardell et al of an association between brain tumors at the temporal lobe and cell phone use on that side of the head. Overall study findings: OR = 0.7; 95% CI 0.3-1.4 - glioma (> 10 hrs/month), no ipsilateral association. A later publication specifically analyzing data from 90 patients with acoustic neuroma also found no association with cell phone use. Although an elevation was observed in one cell phone user group, it was the infrequent user group. Similar effects were not observed in frequent user groups, and there was no apparent dose response or cumulative effect of cell phone exposure causing the authors to interpret the findings as unrelated to cell phone use.
Findings		No Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		American Health Foundation, NY, USA
Funding Agency		WTR, USA
Country		UNITED STATES
References		Muscat, JE et al. Neurology, (2002) 58:1304-1306 Muscat, JE et al. JAMA, (2000) 284:3001-3007
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