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Cancer & Tumors

Cellular telephone use and time trends for brain, head and neck tumours.

No Effects Found

Cook A, Woodward A, Pearce N, Marshall C. · 2003

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New Zealand cancer registries showed no increase in head and neck tumors during the first decade of widespread cell phone use.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers tracked brain and head cancer rates in New Zealand from 1986 to 1998, comparing trends before and after cellular phones were introduced in 1987. They found no significant changes in cancer rates at body sites that receive high, medium, or low levels of cell phone radiation. The study suggests that widespread cell phone adoption did not lead to detectable increases in head and neck cancers during this 12-year period.

Study Details

The objective of this study was to determine whether incidence rates of head and neck malignancies in New Zealand have varied since the introduction of cellular telephones in 1987. In particular, we sought to compare trends in tumour rates in anatomical sites that receive high, medium and low levels of cellular telephone radiation (based on dosimetry data).

We investigated whether trends in tumour incidence rates in New Zealand have varied since the introd...

The graphs for high, medium and low exposure sites did not display any significant changes in trend ...

Incidence rates for malignancies arising in the head and neck, including those sites that hypothetically receive the highest levels of radio frequency radiation during cellular telephone use, have not changed materially since the introduction of cellular telephones to New Zealand. However, ecological studies of this nature are limited in many ways and a stronger study design is clearly needed to establish more exactly any elevation in risk.

Cite This Study
Cook A, Woodward A, Pearce N, Marshall C. (2003). Cellular telephone use and time trends for brain, head and neck tumours. N Z Med J. 116(1175):U457, 2003.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2003_cellular_telephone_use_and_2986,
  author = {Cook A and Woodward A and Pearce N and Marshall C.},
  title = {Cellular telephone use and time trends for brain, head and neck tumours.},
  year = {2003},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12838353/},
}
PubMed: 12838353

Cited By (29 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

No, brain cancer rates did not change significantly after cell phones were introduced to New Zealand in 1987. Researchers tracked cancer rates from 1986 to 1998 and found no detectable increases in head and neck cancers despite widespread cell phone adoption during this 12-year period.
The New Zealand study tracked brain and head cancer rates for 12 years, from 1986 to 1998. This timeframe allowed researchers to compare cancer trends before and after cellular phones were introduced in 1987, providing over a decade of data to detect potential changes.
Researchers studied body sites receiving high, medium, and low levels of cell phone radiation during typical use. They focused on head and neck malignancies, examining cancer rates at locations that would hypothetically receive the highest radio frequency radiation exposure from cellular telephone use.
The study authors acknowledged that ecological studies like theirs are limited in many ways and cannot establish exact risk elevation. They noted that a stronger study design would be needed to more precisely determine any potential cancer risks from cellular telephone use.
No, both men and women showed similar results in the New Zealand study. The graphs for high, medium, and low radiation exposure sites did not display any significant changes in cancer trend patterns for either gender during the 1986 to 1998 study period.