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Cancer & Tumors516 citations

Cellular-telephone use and brain tumors.

No Effects Found

Inskip PD, Tarone RE, Hatch EE, Wilcosky TC, Shapiro WR, Selker RG, Fine HA, Black PM, Loeffler JS, Linet MS · 2001

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The data do not support the hypothesis that recent use of hand-held cellular telephones causes brain tumors.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers conducted a case-control study of intracranial tumors between 1994 and 1998. They enrolled 782 patients with glioma, meningioma, or acoustic neuroma and 799 controls. Cumulative use of more than 100 hours showed relative risks of 0.9 for glioma, 0.7 for meningioma, 1.4 for acoustic neuroma, and 1.0 for all tumors combined. No higher risks were seen for use of 60 or more minutes per day or regular use for five or more years. Tumors did not occur more often on the side of the head where the telephone was typically used.

Why This Matters

The authors stated that the data do not support the hypothesis that recent use of hand-held cellular telephones causes brain tumors. They also noted that the study is not sufficient to evaluate risks among long-term, heavy users and for potentially long induction periods.

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Cellular-telephone use and brain tumors.

We examined the use of cellular telephones in a case–control study of intracranial tumors of the ner...

As compared with never, or very rarely, having used a cellular telephone, the relative risks associa...

These data do not support the hypothesis that the recent use of hand-held cellular telephones causes brain tumors, but they are not sufficient to evaluate the risks among long-term, heavy users and for potentially long induction periods.

Cite This Study
Inskip PD, Tarone RE, Hatch EE, Wilcosky TC, Shapiro WR, Selker RG, Fine HA, Black PM, Loeffler JS, Linet MS (2001). Cellular-telephone use and brain tumors. N Engl J Med 344(2):79-86, 2001.
Show BibTeX
@article{pd_2001_cellulartelephone_use_and_brain_3103,
  author = {Inskip PD and Tarone RE and Hatch EE and Wilcosky TC and Shapiro WR and Selker RG and Fine HA and Black PM and Loeffler JS and Linet MS},
  title = {Cellular-telephone use and brain tumors.},
  year = {2001},
  doi = {10.1056/nejm200101113440201},
  url = {https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm200101113440201},
}
DOI: 10.1056/nejm200101113440201

Cited By (516 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

The study found no increased risk for glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, or all tumors combined with more than 100 hours of use.
There was no evidence of higher risks for use of 60 or more minutes per day or regular use for five or more years.
Tumors did not occur disproportionately often on the side of the head where the telephone was typically used.
The data are not sufficient to evaluate risks among long-term, heavy users and for potentially long induction periods.
The study enrolled 782 patients with brain tumors and 799 controls.