8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Cancer & Tumors

Has the incidence of brain cancer risen in Australia since the introduction of mobile phones 29 years ago?

Bioeffects Seen

Chapman S, Azizi L, Luo Q, Sitas F. · 2016

View Original Abstract
Share:

Despite 94% mobile phone adoption in Australia, brain cancer rates remained stable over 30 years, contradicting predictions of a phone-related cancer epidemic.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Australian researchers analyzed 30 years of brain cancer data (1982-2012) to see if cancer rates increased after mobile phones were introduced in 1987. Despite mobile phone usage reaching 94% of the population by 2014, brain cancer rates remained stable in most age groups and were actually lower than what researchers expected if phones truly caused cancer. The only increase was in people over 70, but this trend began in 1982, before mobile phones existed.

Why This Matters

This large-scale population study provides important context for understanding mobile phone cancer risks. The researchers found that if mobile phones truly caused brain cancer at the rates suggested by some studies, Australia should have seen 1,867 cases in 2012 but only observed 1,434 cases. What this means for you is that the dramatic increase in mobile phone use over three decades has not produced the cancer epidemic that would be expected if phones posed significant cancer risk. The reality is that this type of population-level data offers a powerful reality check against laboratory studies that may overestimate real-world risks. However, this doesn't mean EMF exposure is without concern - it simply suggests that if mobile phones cause brain cancer, the effect is likely smaller than some studies suggest.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

We explored the popularly hypothesised association between brain cancer incidence and mobile phone use.

Using national cancer registration data, we examined age and gender specific incidence rates of 19,8...

Age adjusted brain cancer incidence rates (20-84 years, per 100,000) have risen slightly in males (p...

The observed stability of brain cancer incidence in Australia between 1982 and 2012 in all age groups except in those over 70 years compared to increasing modelled expected estimates, suggests that the observed increases in brain cancer incidence in the older age group are unlikely to be related to mobile phone use. Rather, we hypothesize that the observed increases in brain cancer incidence in Australia are related to the advent of improved diagnostic procedures when computed tomography and related imaging technologies were introduced in the early 1980s.

Cite This Study
Chapman S, Azizi L, Luo Q, Sitas F. (2016). Has the incidence of brain cancer risen in Australia since the introduction of mobile phones 29 years ago? Cancer Epidemiol. 2016 Jun;42:199-205. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2016.04.010. Epub 2016 May 5. PMID: 27156022.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2016_has_the_incidence_of_1967,
  author = {Chapman S and Azizi L and Luo Q and Sitas F.},
  title = {Has the incidence of brain cancer risen in Australia since the introduction of mobile phones 29 years ago?},
  year = {2016},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27156022/},
}
PubMed: 27156022

Cited By (37 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

No, brain cancer rates remained stable in Australia from 1982-2012 despite mobile phone usage reaching 94% of the population. The Chapman study found rates were actually lower than expected if phones truly caused cancer, with only people over 70 showing increases that began before mobile phones existed.
The increase in brain cancer among Australians over 70 began in 1982, five years before mobile phones were introduced. Researchers believe improved diagnostic procedures like CT scans and imaging technologies introduced in the early 1980s better detected existing cancers rather than phones causing new ones.
If mobile phones caused brain cancer with a 50% increased risk, Australia would have seen 1,867 cases in 2012. Instead, only 1,434 cases occurred. Even assuming heavy users had 2.5 times higher risk, the expected 2,038 cases far exceeded what actually happened.
Australian men develop brain cancer at higher rates than women regardless of mobile phone use. The study found male rates of 8.7 cases per 100,000 people compared to 5.8 cases per 100,000 women, with male rates showing slight increases over 30 years while female rates remained stable.
Twenty-nine years of Australian data shows no link between mobile phones and brain cancer. Despite phones becoming ubiquitous after 1987, cancer rates stayed flat or decreased below expected levels in all age groups under 70, suggesting mobile phone radiation doesn't increase brain cancer risk.