No Increase in Brain Tumors Seen From Cell Phones

Despite new findings, there is still concern whether they cause brain cancer.

A new study confirms previous evidence suggesting that cell phones do not cause brain cancer.

A 30-year study of Scandinavian people turned up results that were not conclusive that cell phone use over a long period of time resulted in increased brain tumors, citing a report by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers who led the study stated that there was simply no statistical data over the 30 year period showing increases in tumor incidence and cell phone use.

This is the first study of its kind and a massive one at that.  This study is large enough to quiet most skeptics and concerns, though some concerns still linger.

Concern that the possibility that widespread cell phone use hasn't been around long enough to see an increase in brain tumors exists.  So, researchers won't put a firm foot down and say, 'no way'.

This means that either mobile phones don't cause brain tumors or it means that we don't see it yet or we don't see it because the increase is too small to be observed in this population, or it is a risk that is limited to a small subgroup of the population.

In the study, researchers collected data on 60,000 people diagnosed with glioma and meningioma in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden between 1974 and 2003.

The researchers found that the incidence of brain tumors over this 30-year period were stable, decreased or gradually increased, starting before cell phones became popular.

Additionally, there was no change in the incidence of brain tumors between 1998 and 2003, during a period of rapid increase in cell phone usage, the researchers noted.  However, they are quick to point out that the connection between cell phones and brain tumors will persist even though there is no scientific evidence for such a connection. 

Most of the concern stems from public paranoia.  However, other mainstream studies have been proven to have spurious results.  Most recently, a scandal in Great Britain occurred when e-mails from a research team on global warming were intercepted, and found to have admission of maliciously falsified statistics on planetary warming (or cooling, as it purportedly is actually occurring).

However, a review of existing research on the topic, published online Oct. 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, did find a slight, potentially harmful association between cell phone use and brain tumors.

So, one more time, researchers will state that they don't have a clear-cut answer.

Most of the academic world's fence-sitting attitude stems from the thalidomide debacle decades ago.  Nobody in research or clinical medicine wants to be wrong, therefore, the safest route is to be non-committal.