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Cancer & Tumors243 citations

Mobile phone use and risk of acoustic neuroma: results of the Interphone case-control study in five North European countries

No Effects Found

Schoemaker MJ, Swerdlow AJ, Ahlbom A, Auvinen A, Blaasaas KG, Cardis E, Collatz Christensen H, Feychting M, Hepworth SJ, Johansen C, Klæboe L, Lönn S, McKinney PA, Muir K, Raitanen J, Salminen T, Thomsen J, Tynes T. · 2005

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Long-term mobile phone use on the same side of the head for 10+ years showed 80% increased acoustic neuroma risk.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers studied 678 people with acoustic neuroma (a type of brain tumor near the ear) and compared their mobile phone use to 3,553 healthy controls across five Northern European countries. Overall, regular mobile phone use did not increase the risk of developing these tumors. However, people who used phones for 10 years or longer on the same side of their head where the tumor developed showed an 80% increased risk, suggesting long-term use may pose concerns.

Study Details

There is public concern that use of mobile phones could increase the risk of brain tumours. If such an effect exists, acoustic neuroma would be of particular concern because of the proximity of the acoustic nerve to the handset. We conducted, to a shared protocol, six population-based case-control studies in four Nordic countries and the UK to assess the risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to mobile phone use.

Data were collected by personal interview from 678 cases of acoustic neuroma and 3553 controls.

The risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to regular mobile phone use in the pooled data set was not ...

The study suggests that there is no substantial risk of acoustic neuroma in the first decade after starting mobile phone use. However, an increase in risk after longer term use or after a longer lag period could not be ruled out.

Cite This Study
Schoemaker MJ, Swerdlow AJ, Ahlbom A, Auvinen A, Blaasaas KG, Cardis E, Collatz Christensen H, Feychting M, Hepworth SJ, Johansen C, Klæboe L, Lönn S, McKinney PA, Muir K, Raitanen J, Salminen T, Thomsen J, Tynes T. (2005). Mobile phone use and risk of acoustic neuroma: results of the Interphone case-control study in five North European countries Br J Cancer 93:842-848, 2005.
Show BibTeX
@article{mj_2005_mobile_phone_use_and_3374,
  author = {Schoemaker MJ and Swerdlow AJ and Ahlbom A and Auvinen A and Blaasaas KG and Cardis E and Collatz Christensen H and Feychting M and Hepworth SJ and Johansen C and Klæboe L and Lönn S and McKinney PA and Muir K and Raitanen J and Salminen T and Thomsen J and Tynes T. },
  title = {Mobile phone use and risk of acoustic neuroma: results of the Interphone case-control study in five North European countries},
  year = {2005},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16136046/},
}
PubMed: 16136046

Cited By (243 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

Most cell phone use does not increase acoustic neuroma risk. However, a major European study found people using phones on the same side for 10+ years had an 80% higher risk of developing these ear-area brain tumors.
Overall mobile phone use doesn't significantly increase brain tumor risk according to research on 678 acoustic neuroma patients. The concern emerges with very long-term use (decade-plus) on the same side of the head.
Regular cell phone use doesn't substantially raise ear tumor risk in the first decade. A large European study found increased acoustic neuroma risk only after 10+ years of consistent same-side phone use.
Acoustic neuroma risk isn't elevated from typical phone use. Research shows the main risk factor is using phones for 10+ years consistently on the same side where the tumor develops, increasing risk by 80%.
Cell phone use appears safe for the first decade according to acoustic neuroma research. Potential risks may emerge after 10+ years of regular use, particularly when consistently using the same ear for calls.