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Use of Mobile and Cordless Phones and Survival of Patients with Glioma.

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Hardell L, Carlberg M. · 2012

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Long-term wireless phone users with brain tumors showed 30% higher death rates, suggesting EMF exposure may worsen cancer outcomes.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Swedish researchers followed 1,251 brain tumor patients for over a decade to see if wireless phone use affected their survival after diagnosis. They found that patients with glioma (a type of brain tumor) who used mobile or cordless phones for more than 10 years had a 20% higher risk of dying compared to non-users. The effect was strongest for the most aggressive type of brain tumor (glioblastoma), where long-term phone users had a 30% higher death rate.

Why This Matters

This study reveals a troubling dimension to the wireless phone-brain tumor connection that goes beyond just cancer risk. The science demonstrates that EMF exposure doesn't just potentially contribute to tumor development - it may also make these cancers more deadly. What makes this research particularly significant is that it tracked actual patient outcomes over more than a decade, providing real-world evidence of how wireless phone use affects brain tumor survival. The 30% increased death rate for glioblastoma patients with long-term phone use represents a substantial survival disadvantage. Put simply, if wireless phones can influence how aggressively these tumors behave, this adds another layer of concern to the mounting evidence about EMF health effects. The reality is that brain tumors are already among the most challenging cancers to treat, and any factor that worsens prognosis deserves serious attention.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

We analysed the survival of patients after glioma diagnosis in relation to the use of wireless phones.

All cases diagnosed between 1997 and 2003 with a malignant brain tumour (n = 1,251) in our case-cont...

For glioma, the use of wireless phones (mobile and cordless phones) gave a hazard ratio (HR) = 1.1 (...

Decreased survival of glioma cases with long-term and high cumulative use of wireless phones was found. A survival disadvantage for astrocytoma grade IV, but a survival benefit for astrocytoma grade I-II was observed which could be due to exposure-related tumour symptoms leading to earlier diagnosis and surgery in that patient group.

Cite This Study
Hardell L, Carlberg M. (2012). Use of Mobile and Cordless Phones and Survival of Patients with Glioma. Neuroepidemiology. 40(2):101-108, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{l_2012_use_of_mobile_and_2179,
  author = {Hardell L and Carlberg M.},
  title = {Use of Mobile and Cordless Phones and Survival of Patients with Glioma.},
  year = {2012},
  
  url = {https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/341905},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Swedish researchers followed 1,251 brain tumor patients for over a decade to see if wireless phone use affected their survival after diagnosis. They found that patients with glioma (a type of brain tumor) who used mobile or cordless phones for more than 10 years had a 20% higher risk of dying compared to non-users. The effect was strongest for the most aggressive type of brain tumor (glioblastoma), where long-term phone users had a 30% higher death rate.