8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body

Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.

Cancer & Tumors

Mobile telephones and rates of brain cancer

No Effects Found

Muscat JE, Hinsvark M, Malkin M · 2006

View Original Abstract
Share:

Brain cancer rates remained unchanged despite exponential mobile phone growth from 1984-2002, suggesting no population-level cancer risk.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers analyzed brain cancer rates in the United States from 1973 to 2002, comparing them to the dramatic rise in mobile phone use that began in 1984. Despite mobile phone subscriptions increasing exponentially during this period, rates of neuronal brain cancers remained unchanged. This suggests that mobile phone use does not increase the risk of these specific types of brain tumors.

Study Details

The risk of most primary brain cancers including gliomas and acoustic neuromas is unrelated to the use of mobile telephones in several studies. The long-term effects of mobile phones remain to be determined. An increased risk caused by short-term mobile phone use was reported for neuroepithelial tumors, a rare histologic subgroup of brain cancers that are characterized by neuronal features. We analyzed time trends in the age-adjusted incidence rate of adult neuronal cancers in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program from 1973 to 2002.

The rates did not change during this period, despite the exponential increase in mobile phone subsc...

These results indicate that mobile phone use is unrelated to the risk of neuronal cancers.

Cite This Study
Muscat JE, Hinsvark M, Malkin M (2006). Mobile telephones and rates of brain cancer Neuroepidemiology.27(1):55-56, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{je_2006_mobile_telephones_and_rates_3262,
  author = {Muscat JE and Hinsvark M and Malkin M},
  title = {Mobile telephones and rates of brain cancer},
  year = {2006},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16825795/},
}
PubMed: 16825795

Cited By (26 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

No, brain cancer rates remained unchanged from 1973 to 2002 despite exponential growth in mobile phone subscriptions starting in 1984. The Muscat study found no correlation between the dramatic rise in cell phone use and neuronal brain cancer incidence in the United States.
Research shows no link between mobile telephone usage and neuronal brain cancers. A comprehensive analysis of US cancer data spanning 30 years found that neuronal brain tumor rates stayed constant even as mobile phone subscriptions increased exponentially during this period.
Brain tumor rates remained stable when cell phones became popular in 1984. Despite mobile phone subscriptions growing dramatically from 1984 onward, researchers found no corresponding increase in neuronal brain cancer rates through 2002, suggesting no causal relationship.
The Muscat 2006 study shows cell phones do not cause brain cancer. Researchers analyzed 30 years of US brain cancer data and found no increase in neuronal brain tumor rates despite exponential growth in mobile phone use starting in the 1980s.
Brain cancer didn't increase with exponential mobile phone growth because mobile phones don't cause neuronal brain cancers. The 2006 Muscat study demonstrated that despite massive increases in cell phone subscriptions from 1984-2002, neuronal brain tumor rates remained unchanged in the US population.