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Cancer Research UK


Epidemiology

British Journal of Cancer (2005) 93, 842-848.
doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602764 Published online 30 August 2005

Mobile phone use and risk of acoustic neuroma: results of the Interphone case-control study in five North European countries

M J Schoemaker1, A J Swerdlow1, A Ahlbom2,13, A Auvinen3,10, K G Blaasaas4, E Cardis5, H Collatz Christensen6, M Feychting2, S J Hepworth7, C Johansen6, L Klæboe8, S Lönn2, P A McKinney7, K Muir9, J Raitanen10, T Salminen3, J Thomsen11 and T Tynes8,12

1Section of Epidemiology, Institute of Cancer Research, Brookes Lawley Building, Sutton SM2 5NG, UK

2Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Box 210, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

3STUK-Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, 00881 Helsinki, Finland

4Norwegian Armed Forces, Bygning 0028A, Sessvollmoen 2058, Norway

5International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, 69372 Cedex 08, Lyon, France

6Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Strandboulevarden 49, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

7Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Leeds, 30 Hyde Terrace, Leeds LS2 9LN, UK

8The Cancer Registry of Norway, Institute of Population-based Cancer Research, Montebello, 0310 Oslo, Norway

9Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK

10Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere 33014, Finland

11Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, DK-2900 Hellerup, Denmark

12Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, PO Box 55, 1332 Osteras, Norway



Correspondence to: MJ Schoemaker, E-mail: Minouk@icr.ac.uk

13From this author onwards in alphabetical order of surname

Received 14 July 2005; revised 27 July 2005; accepted 28 July 2005; published online 30 August 2005



There is public concern that use of mobile phones could increase the risk of brain tumours. If such an effect exists, acoustic neuroma would be of particular concern because of the proximity of the acoustic nerve to the handset. We conducted, to a shared protocol, six population-based case-control studies in four Nordic countries and the UK to assess the risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to mobile phone use. Data were collected by personal interview from 678 cases of acoustic neuroma and 3553 controls. The risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to regular mobile phone use in the pooled data set was not raised (odds ratio (OR)=0.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7-1.1). There was no association of risk with duration of use, lifetime cumulative hours of use or number of calls, for phone use overall or for analogue or digital phones separately. Risk of a tumour on the same side of the head as reported phone use was raised for use for 10 years or longer (OR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1). The study suggests that there is no substantial risk of acoustic neuroma in the first decade after starting mobile phone use. However, an increase in risk after longer term use or after a longer lag period could not be ruled out.

Keywords: neuroma, acoustic; telephone; epidemiology; aetiology

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