Largest ever study finds no link between mobile phone use and brain cancer

A meta study of medical papers spanning close to three decades has revealed that mobile phones are not linked to brain and head cancers.

The review commissioned by the World Health Organization and led by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa), examined more than 5,000 studies between 1994 and 2022.

The final analysis, after exfiltration of weak studies, included 63 observational studies in humans.  

"Exposure from fixed-site transmitters (broadcasting antennas or base stations) was not associated with childhood leukaemia or paediatric brain tumour risks, independently of the level of the modelled RF exposure.

"Glioma risk was not significantly increased following occupational RF exposure (ever vs never), and no differences were detected between increasing categories of modelled cumulative exposure levels," the study concluded.

According to its lead author,  associate prof Ken Karipidis, evidence did not show a link between mobile phones and brain cancer or other head and neck cancers. 

Published Wednesday in the journal Environment International, the review focused on cancers of the central nervous system, such as those targeting brain, meninges, pituitary gland and ear, salivary gland tumours and brain tumours.

The review found no association between mobile phone use and cancer, no association with prolonged use – 10 years or more –, and no association with the amount of mobile phone use – such as number of calls made.

Karipadis said he was confident of the study's results, since "though mobile phone use has skyrocketed, brain tumour rates have remained stable."

Since the 1990s concerns have been aired about the prolonged use of mobile phones and their association with certain cancers because of the emission of radio waves. 

The association found some credence from early studies which assessed differences between a group of people with brain tumours, and a separate group without the cancers by asking both about their exposure history.

Karipadis, however, said those studies were exposed to bias because while the group without the tumour tend to provide good information, the group with the tumour were likely to overreport their exposure. 

He said another WHO-commissioned systematic review which looked at male fertility and radio waves found no evidence of an association between phones and drop in sperm count.

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