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Cancer & Tumors648 citations

Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case-control study.

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The INTERPHONE Study Group. · 2010

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Heavy mobile phone users showed 40% higher brain tumor risk, but study limitations prevent confirming whether phones actually cause cancer.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers studied brain tumor risk in over 5,000 people across 13 countries, comparing mobile phone users to non-users. They found no overall increased risk of brain tumors from mobile phone use, but did see a 40% higher risk of glioma (a type of brain cancer) in the heaviest users who reported over 1,640 hours of cumulative call time. However, the researchers noted that recall bias and other methodological issues prevent drawing firm conclusions about causation.

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case-control study.

An interview-based case-control study with 2708 glioma and 2409 meningioma cases and matched control...

A reduced odds ratio (OR) related to ever having been a regular mobile phone user was seen for gliom...

Overall, no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed with use of mobile phones. There were suggestions of an increased risk of glioma at the highest exposure levels, but biases and error prevent a causal interpretation. The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation.

Cite This Study
The INTERPHONE Study Group. (2010). Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case-control study. Int J Epidemiol.39(3):675-94,2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{group._2010_brain_tumour_risk_in_3105,
  author = {The INTERPHONE Study Group.},
  title = {Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the INTERPHONE international case-control study.},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20483835/},
}
PubMed: 20483835

Cited By (648 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

The INTERPHONE study found no overall increased risk of brain tumors from mobile phone use across 5,000 people in 13 countries. However, the heaviest users with over 1,640 hours of cumulative call time showed a 40% higher glioma risk, though methodological issues prevent drawing firm causal conclusions.
INTERPHONE found a 40% increased risk of glioma brain tumors in the heaviest mobile phone users who reported over 1,640 hours of cumulative call time. However, researchers noted that recall bias and implausible reported usage values prevent determining if this represents a true causal relationship.
Yes, the INTERPHONE study found that glioma brain tumors tended to occur more frequently on the same side of the head where people typically held their phone during calls, compared to the opposite side, suggesting a potential localized effect.
INTERPHONE showed 19-21% lower brain tumor risk in mobile phone users overall, which researchers attributed to participation bias and other methodological limitations rather than phones actually providing protection. This counterintuitive finding highlights the study's analytical challenges.
The INTERPHONE study found no elevated brain tumor risk 10 or more years after people first started using mobile phones. The odds ratios were 0.98 for glioma and 0.83 for meningioma, indicating no increased long-term cancer risk from extended phone use duration.