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Cancer & Tumors257 citations

Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer Risk: Update of a nationwide Danish cohort.

No Effects Found

Schüz J, Jacobsen R, Olsen JH, Boice, JD Jr, McLaughlin JK, Johansen C · 2006

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This 21-year study of 420,000 Danish cell phone users found no increased cancer risk, even among long-term users.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Danish researchers followed 420,095 cell phone subscribers for up to 21 years to see if mobile phone use increased cancer risk. They found no increased risk for brain tumors, acoustic neuromas, or other cancers typically associated with phone use, even among people who used phones for 10 years or more. This large-scale study suggests that cell phone use does not significantly increase cancer risk over the long term.

Study Details

The widespread use of cellular telephones has heightened concerns about possible adverse health effects. The objective of this study was to investigate cancer risk among Danish cellular telephone users who were followed for up to 21 years.

This study is an extended follow-up of a large nationwide cohort of 420,095 persons whose first cell...

A total of 14,249 cancers were observed (SIR = 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.93 to 0.97) f...

We found no evidence for an association between tumor risk and cellular telephone use among either short-term or long-term users. Moreover, the narrow confidence intervals provide evidence that any large association of risk of cancer and cellular telephone use can be excluded.

Cite This Study
Schüz J, Jacobsen R, Olsen JH, Boice, JD Jr, McLaughlin JK, Johansen C (2006). Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer Risk: Update of a nationwide Danish cohort. J Natl Cancer Inst 98:1707-1713, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2006_cellular_telephone_use_and_3383,
  author = {Schüz J and Jacobsen R and Olsen JH and Boice and JD Jr and McLaughlin JK and Johansen C},
  title = {Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer Risk: Update of a nationwide Danish cohort.},
  year = {2006},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17148772/},
}
PubMed: 17148772

Cited By (257 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

The Danish cohort study of 420,095 cell phone subscribers found no increased cancer risk from mobile phone use. Researchers followed users for up to 21 years and observed no significant association between cellular telephone use and brain tumors, acoustic neuromas, or other cancers.
Long-term cell phone users showed no increased cancer risk in the Danish study. Even subscribers who used phones for 10 years or more had no elevated risk for brain tumors (SIR = 0.66), with narrow confidence intervals ruling out any large cancer association.
Danish researchers examined brain tumors, acoustic neuromas, salivary gland tumors, eye tumors, and leukemias among 420,095 cell phone subscribers. None of these cancer types showed increased risk from cellular telephone use, even with long-term exposure over 21 years.
The Danish study observed 14,249 total cancers among 420,095 cell phone subscribers over 21 years. The standardized incidence ratio was 0.95, indicating slightly fewer cancers than expected in the general population, not more cancers from phone use.
Early cell phone subscribers from the mid-1980s showed lower cancer rates in the Danish study. These users appeared to have higher incomes and smoked less than the general population, which may explain their reduced risk for smoking-related cancers.