Mobile phone users do NOT have an increased risk of brain tumours, myth-debunking study finds
- University of Oxford experts found just 0.42% of phone users had brain cancer
- Researchers studied more than 400,000 British women over a period of 14 years
- They found no association between brain tumours and using a mobile phone
Regularly using a mobile phone does not boost your risk of brain tumours, a major study has concluded.
Despite becoming a staple of modern life, there have been long-standing fears our phones may emit cancer-causing radiation, often peddled by conspiracy theorists.
But research that tracked more than 400,000 Britons over a decade uncovered no link between regular mobile phone use and the prevalence of brain cancers.
Oxford University experts found 0.41 per cent of women who used a mobile phone went on to develop a brain tumour, compared to 0.44 per cent who never used the devices.
The study, which ran during the noughties, adds to the growing body of evidence that dismisses concerns about phones and cancer, the researchers said.
Kirstin Pirie, a statistical analyst and co-author of the study, said: ‘Mobile phone use under usual conditions does not increase brain tumour risk.’
Mobile phone users are at no at a greater risk of developing brain tumours, a study led by University of Oxford researchers claimed today
Fears over the cancer-causing potential of mobiles first arose in the 1990s, when the portable phones became a staple in every household.
Statistics revealed a 34 per cent increase in the diagnosis of brain tumours in the 20 years that followed.
But Cancer Research UK (CRUK) points out mobile ownership in the UK rose by 500 per cent between 1990 and 2016.
If phones were to blame, the rate of cancer would be expected to be substantially higher, they add.
In 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer – a subset of the World Health Organization – stated phones may be a ‘possible cause of cancer’ but felt there was insufficient data to draw a more clear-cut conclusion.
But later larger studies found no link, according to CRUK.
In the US, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Communications Commission all conclude there is no scientific evidence linking mobiles to cancer.
Mobiles emit radiofrequency waves in the form of electromagnetic radiation from their antennaes, the National Cancer Institute claims.
The area of the body closest to the antennae, typically the head, has the potential to absorb some of this energy.
However, numerous scientists have claimed this radiation is non-ionising.
Unlike X-rays, which are ionising, these rays are ‘low energy, low frequency and do not damage cells’.
Brain cancer rates likely rose alongside mobile use due to medics getting better at diagnosing the disease over the years.
The study was published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Conspiracy theorists have long claimed radiowaves emitted by phones can penetrate the skull and cause cancer when making a call.
The claims have become even more outrageous in recent years with the advent of 5G, which some claimed was linked to the Covid pandemic.
Oxford researchers drew on data from 400,000 cancer-free women aged 50 to 80 between 2001 and 2011.
Participants were asked about their mobile phone use at the beginning and the end of the study.
Their answers were compared to their health records on both occasions.
Researchers then tracked whether anyone went on to develop three different types of brain tumour: meningioma, pituitary adenoma and acoustic neuromas.
Other factors than can contribute to tumours, such as age, BMI, alcohol intake, smoking and exercise levels, were also considered.
Results showed people who used a phone in some capacity throughout the 10 years actually saw a 5 per cent lower chance of developing brain cancer, than those who never used one during the period.
Women who had used a phone daily over the period had a slightly higher chance — 1 per cent greater.
Meanwhile, those who used a phone less than daily but had a lower risk than those who never used them — 3 per cent smaller.
Experts said the tiny differences in risk between the groups were statistically insignificant.
Overall, of the 286,387 women who had never used a mobile as of 2001, 1,261 went on to develop a brain tumour by 2011 — a rate of 0.44 per cent.
Meanwhile, of the 556,131 who had used one, 2,278 ended the study with a brain tumour (0.41 per cent).
Ms Pirie, a cancer expert at Oxford, said: ‘These results support the accumulating evidence that mobile phone use under usual conditions does not increase brain tumour risk.’
Fears over the cancer-causing potential of mobiles first arose in the 1990s, when the portable phones became a staple in every household.
There was a 39 per cent increase in the diagnosis of brain tumours in the 20 years that followed in Britain, according to Cancer Research UK.
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer — a subset of the World Health Organization (WHO) — claimed phones could be a possible cause of cancer.
But it admitted there was insufficient data to draw a conclusion and larger studies have since failed to find a link, with experts believing the rise could be due to improved diagnosis.
Mobiles emit radio frequency waves in the form of electromagnetic radiation from their antennaes.
The area of the body closest to the antennae, typically the head, has the potential to absorb some of this energy.
However, numerous scientists have claimed this radiation is non-ionising, meaning they are low energy, low frequency and do not damage cells unlike X-rays.
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