6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body

Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.

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

View Original Abstract
Share:

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

Summary written for general audiences

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 20-29-year-olds: they rose among young women, and also among young men, where the increase began earlier than among women and before cell phone use was highly prevalent. The frontal lobe is not among the brain areas more highly exposed to phone radiation.

Why This Matters

This population-level study provides important context in the cell phone-brain cancer debate, though it has significant limitations. The reality is that cancer typically takes decades to develop, so this 15-year window may be too short to detect effects from an exposure that became widespread in the 1990s. What's more telling is that the increases researchers did find occurred in frontal lobe areas that receive relatively little radiation from phones, while the temporal and parietal regions closest to the phone showed no increases. However, we shouldn't view this as definitive proof of safety. The science demonstrates that RF radiation can cause biological effects in laboratory studies, and several case-control studies have found associations between heavy long-term phone use and specific brain tumors. Population studies like this one are valuable pieces of the puzzle, but they can miss effects in heavy users or those with longer exposure periods.

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)

View all 107 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

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, and also rose among men aged 20-29, where the increase began earlier than among women and before cell phone use was highly prevalent. The frontal lobe is not among the brain areas more highly exposed to radiofrequency radiation from cell phones.
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.