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Cancer & Tumors152 citations

Use of mobile phones and cordless phones is associated with increased risk for glioma and acoustic neuroma.

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Hardell L, Carlberg M, Hansson Mild K. · 2012

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Heavy mobile phone users (1,640+ hours) showed more than double the risk of brain tumors, exposure levels many people now exceed.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Swedish researchers analyzed data from multiple studies on mobile and cordless phone use and brain tumor risk. They found that people who used mobile phones for 10+ years had a 71% increased risk of glioma (a type of brain tumor) in the temporal lobe, and those with the heaviest usage (1,640+ hours total) had more than double the risk. The study contributed to the World Health Organization's 2011 classification of mobile phone radiation as a 'possible carcinogen.'

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Use of mobile phones and cordless phones is associated with increased risk for glioma and acoustic neuroma.

The Working Group consisted of 30 scientists and categorised the radiofrequency electromagnetic fiel...

Results for cordless phones are lacking in Interphone. The meta-analysis gave for glioma in the most...

It is concluded that one should be careful using incidence data to dismiss results in analytical epidemiology. The IARC carcinogenic classification does not seem to have had any significant impact on governments' perceptions of their responsibilities to protect public health from this widespread source of radiation.

Cite This Study
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Hansson Mild K. (2012). Use of mobile phones and cordless phones is associated with increased risk for glioma and acoustic neuroma. Pathophysiology. 2012 Dec 20. pii: S0928-4680(12)00110-1. doi: 10.1016/j.pathophys.2012.11.001.
Show BibTeX
@article{l_2012_use_of_mobile_phones_3068,
  author = {Hardell L and Carlberg M and Hansson Mild K.},
  title = {Use of mobile phones and cordless phones is associated with increased risk for glioma and acoustic neuroma.},
  year = {2012},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23261330/},
}
PubMed: 23261330

Cited By (152 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, Swedish researchers found that people who used mobile phones for 10+ years had a 71% increased risk of glioma in the temporal lobe. This 2012 study analyzed multiple datasets and contributed to WHO's classification of mobile phone radiation as a possible carcinogen.
The study found that people with 1,640+ total hours of mobile phone use had more than double the risk of glioma (OR=2.29). This represents approximately 2.7 hours of phone use daily for 10 years, showing a clear dose-response relationship.
Yes, the Hardell research group found that cordless phones increased acoustic neuroma risk similarly to mobile phones. People with 1,640+ hours of phone use on the same side as their tumor had 2.55 times higher acoustic neuroma risk.
The study found that wireless phone users with glioblastoma (grade IV astrocytoma) had 20% higher death rates after 10+ years of use. However, patients with low-grade tumors showed better survival, possibly due to earlier symptom detection and treatment.
The researchers noted that some studies show increasing brain tumor rates while others don't, partly because incidence data can be unreliable for dismissing analytical studies. They concluded that governments haven't adequately responded to IARC's carcinogenic classification of mobile phone radiation.