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Cancer & Tumors107 citations

Brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cellular telephone use in the United States.

No Effects Found

Inskip PD, Hoover RN, Devesa SS. · 2010

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Brain cancer rates didn't rise during explosive cell phone adoption, but cancer's long development time means longer-term studies are needed.

Plain English Summary

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Researchers analyzed 15 years of brain cancer data from the SEER cancer registry (1992-2006) to see if rising cell phone use correlated with increased brain tumors. They found no overall increase in brain cancer rates during this period of explosive cell phone adoption, and importantly, no increases in the specific brain regions (temporal and parietal lobes) that would receive the highest radiation exposure from phones held to the ear. The one exception was frontal lobe cancers in young women, but this increase began before widespread cell phone use and occurred in brain areas with lower phone radiation exposure.

Study Details

We examined temporal trends in brain cancer incidence rates in the United States, using data collected by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program.

Log-linear models were used to estimate the annual percent change in rates among whites.

With the exception of the 20-29-year age group, the trends for 1992-2006 were downward or flat. Amon...

Overall, these incidence data do not provide support to the view that cellular phone use causes brain cancer.

Cite This Study
Inskip PD, Hoover RN, Devesa SS. (2010). Brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cellular telephone use in the United States. Neuro Oncol.12(11):1147-1151, 2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{pd_2010_brain_cancer_incidence_trends_3104,
  author = {Inskip PD and Hoover RN and Devesa SS.},
  title = {Brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cellular telephone use in the United States.},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20639214/},
}
PubMed: 20639214

Cited By (107 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

No, brain cancer rates remained flat or declined from 1992-2006 despite explosive cell phone adoption. This 15-year SEER cancer registry analysis found no overall increase in brain tumors during the period when cell phone use became widespread across America.
No, temporal and parietal lobe cancers showed no increases from 1992-2006. These brain regions receive the highest radiation exposure when holding phones to the ear, yet cancer rates in these areas remained stable during widespread cell phone adoption.
Frontal lobe cancer rates rose in women aged 20-29 from 1992-2006, but this trend began before widespread cell phone use. The frontal lobe receives lower phone radiation exposure, suggesting factors other than cell phones caused this increase.
No, the SEER cancer registry data from 1992-2006 does not support claims that cell phones cause brain cancer. Despite massive increases in cell phone use during this period, brain cancer rates showed no corresponding increases in exposed brain regions.
No, cerebellum cancers showed no increases from 1992-2006 despite this brain region's proximity to phone radiation. The lack of cancer increases in brain areas most exposed to phone radiation argues against a causal relationship with cell phone use.