Study: Cell Phones Don’t Cause Brain Cancer

According to a new study, cell phone usage still can’t be linked to cancerous tumors, as we all exhale a sigh of relief. The journal of Epidemiology shows no connection between mobile phone use and gliomas (a large range of cancerous tumor types) in Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden. The study covers a 20-year period.

Why Nordic countries, you ask? Because the adoption of mobile phones soared in such countries as Finland and Sweden long before the U.S., or other larger countries. Plus, Nordic countries, which offer universal health care, offer detailed information about cancer incidence. 

A glioma is a tumor that starts in the brain or spine. Symptoms can include headaches, nausea and vomiting, seizures, blindness and/or pain in the extremities. Incidence rates vary based on where the tumor starts (brain, spine, eye), but according to the study gliomas have not become more common overall in Scandinavia.

This pronouncement does fly in the face of the Italian courts, which recently ruled that cell phones do cause cancer. While there are some types of cancer that do not occur for 20 years or more, the study does seem to indicate that we can all stop worrying about the connection between our smart phone and a tumor growing out of our cheek. However, we’re still not giving up our hands-free headphones. 

Via BGR

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