Patients regularly question neuro-oncologists about a potential link between cellular telephones and the risk of developing a brain tumor. The recent launch of the fifth generation of wireless technologies brought this subject to light once again, and more than ever, smartphones are an everyday gadget worldwide.
In this study, an update on a prospective large-scale British study on the association between cellular telephone use and the risk of developing a primary brain tumor could not associate cellular telephone use with an increased risk of developing a brain tumor. During 14 years of follow-up of 776.156 women who completed a questionnaire, 3.268 incident brain tumors were registered. The adjusted relative risk for ever vs. never cellular use were 0.97 (95% CI = 0.90 to 1.04) for all brain tumors, 0.89 (95% CI = 0.80 to 0.99) for glioma, and not statistically significantly different to 1.0 for meningioma, pituitary tumors, and acoustic neuroma. For gliomas occurring in the temporal and parietal lobes, regions most likely to receive radio-frequency electromagnetic fields from cellular telephones, relative risks were slightly below 1.0.
No other environmental risk factor other than ionizing radiation is associated with the development of a primary brain tumor.
Gabriel Batistella is a Neurologist and Neuro-Oncologist from EPM/UNIFESP
Neuro-Oncologist at HCOR
Assistant at the Neuro-Oncology Sector EPM/UNIFESP
First secretary of Snola
Article link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac042