MONDAY, April 11, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Cell phone use does not increase risks for brain tumors, a new Danish study suggests.
The findings, published in the April 12 issue of Neurology, "are in line with other large studies on this question, including a recently published large-scale, population-based study by the Swedish Interphone Study Group," researcher Dr. Christoffer Johansen, of the Danish Cancer Society, said in a prepared statement.
He added that "there have been a few studies that found an increased risk of brain tumors with cell phone use, but those studies have been criticized for problems with the study design."
Johansen's team questioned 427 patients with brain tumors and 822 healthy individuals on their past cell phone use. The researchers also reviewed the cell phone records of 27 of the people with brain tumors and 47 people without brain tumors, to document the amount and length of calls made.
The study found no increased risk for brain tumors related to cell phone use, frequency of use, or number of years of use. It also found no evidence that brain tumors occurred more or less often on the side of the head where people most often held their cell phones.
There have been few long-term or heavy cell phone users in any studies examining a possible link between cell phone use and brain tumors, Johansen noted.
"In our study, few people reported regular cell phone use for 10 years or more. We won't be able to make any firm conclusions until we can confirm these results with studies with more long-term and heavy cell phone users," he said.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about cell phones and cancer.
