Mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers: prospective study
Benson VS, Pirie K, Schüz J, Reeves GK, Beral V, Green J; for the Million Women Study Collaborators. · 2013
View Original AbstractLong-term mobile phone users showed no increased risk for common brain tumors but over double the risk for acoustic neuroma.
Plain English Summary
British researchers followed nearly 800,000 middle-aged women for 7 years to see if mobile phone use increased their risk of brain tumors and other cancers. They found no increased risk for most brain tumors, including the most common types (glioma and meningioma), but did find that women who used phones for 10+ years had more than double the risk of developing acoustic neuroma, a rare tumor of the hearing nerve. This large study provides mixed evidence about mobile phone safety, with reassurance for most brain cancers but concern for one specific type.
Why This Matters
This Million Women Study represents one of the largest prospective investigations into mobile phone cancer risk, tracking actual tumor development rather than relying on people's memories after diagnosis. The finding of no increased glioma or meningioma risk contradicts some earlier studies, but the 2.46-fold increase in acoustic neuroma risk among long-term users deserves serious attention. What makes this particularly significant is that acoustic neuromas develop right where you hold your phone against your head. While these tumors are rare (affecting roughly 1 in 100,000 people annually), a doubling of risk from a device used by billions globally represents a substantial public health concern. The science demonstrates that even when most cancer risks appear minimal, specific vulnerabilities can emerge with extended exposure patterns.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers: prospective study
The relation between mobile phone use and incidence of intracranial central nervous system (CNS) tum...
During 7 years' follow-up, 51,680 incident invasive cancers and 1,261 incident intracranial CNS tumo...
In this large prospective study, mobile phone use was not associated with increased incidence of glioma, meningioma or non-CNS cancers.
Show BibTeX
@article{vs_2013_mobile_phone_use_and_1898,
author = {Benson VS and Pirie K and Schüz J and Reeves GK and Beral V and Green J; for the Million Women Study Collaborators.},
title = {Mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers: prospective study},
year = {2013},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23657200/},
}