Survival of glioma patients in relation to mobile phone use in Denmark, Finland and Sweden

PAPER manual 2018 Cohort study Effect: no_effect Evidence: Low

Read original paper → DOI: 10.1007/s11060-018-03019-5 Evidence Lab

Abstract

Survival of glioma patients in relation to mobile phone use in Denmark, Finland and Sweden Olsson A, Bouaoun L, Auvinen A, Feychting M, Johansen C, Mathiesen T, Melin B, Lahkola A, Larjavaara S, Villegier AS, Byrnes G, Deltour I, Schüz J. Survival of glioma patients in relation to mobile phone use in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. J Neurooncol. 2018 Nov 12. doi: 10.1007/s11060-018-03019-5. Abstract PURPOSE: Gliomas are the most common cancer of the brain, with a poor prognosis in particular for glioblastoma. In 2014, a study suggested reduced survival in relation to latency of mobile phone use among glioblastoma patients. A joint epidemiological/experimental project to study effects of RF-EMF on tumor development and progression was established. The current analysis relates to the epidemiological part and addresses whether pre-diagnostic mobile phone use was associated with survival among glioma patients. METHODS: Glioma cases (n = 806) previously enrolled in a collaborative population-based case-control study in Denmark, Finland and Sweden were followed up for survival. Vital status, date of death, date of emigration, or date last known to be alive was obtained based on registry linkages with a unique personal ID in each country. Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) stratified by country. Covariates investigated were sex, age, education, histology, treatment, anatomic location and marital status. RESULTS: No indication of reduced survival among glioblastoma patients was observed for various measures of mobile phone use (ever regular use, time since start of regular use, cumulative call time overall or in the last 12 months) relative to no or non-regular use. All significant associations suggested better survival for mobile phone users. Results were similar for high-grade and low-grade gliomas. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence of reduced survival among glioma patients in relation to previous mobile phone use. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

AI evidence extraction

At a glance

Study type

Cohort study

Effect direction

no_effect

Population

Glioma patients (including glioblastoma; high-grade and low-grade) in Denmark, Finland and Sweden

Sample size

806

Exposure

RF mobile phone · Pre-diagnostic use; metrics included ever regular use, time since start of regular use, cumulative call time overall and in last 12 months

Evidence strength

Low

Confidence: 78% · Peer-reviewed: yes

Main findings

Among 806 glioma cases followed for survival, there was no indication of reduced survival among glioblastoma patients for multiple measures of pre-diagnostic mobile phone use compared with no or non-regular use. Significant associations, when present, suggested better survival for mobile phone users; results were reported as similar for high-grade and low-grade gliomas.

Outcomes measured

Survival among glioma patients
Survival among glioblastoma patients
Survival among high-grade gliomas
Survival among low-grade gliomas

Limitations

Exposure details (e.g., RF frequency, SAR) not reported in abstract
Observational analysis; potential for residual confounding despite covariate adjustment
Mobile phone use assessed pre-diagnosis; measurement method not described in abstract

Suggested hubs

mobile-phones-and-brain-tumors (0.9)
Examines mobile phone use (RF-EMF) in relation to outcomes among glioma/glioblastoma patients.

View raw extracted JSON

{
    "study_type": "cohort",
    "exposure": {
        "band": "RF",
        "source": "mobile phone",
        "frequency_mhz": null,
        "sar_wkg": null,
        "duration": "Pre-diagnostic use; metrics included ever regular use, time since start of regular use, cumulative call time overall and in last 12 months"
    },
    "population": "Glioma patients (including glioblastoma; high-grade and low-grade) in Denmark, Finland and Sweden",
    "sample_size": 806,
    "outcomes": [
        "Survival among glioma patients",
        "Survival among glioblastoma patients",
        "Survival among high-grade gliomas",
        "Survival among low-grade gliomas"
    ],
    "main_findings": "Among 806 glioma cases followed for survival, there was no indication of reduced survival among glioblastoma patients for multiple measures of pre-diagnostic mobile phone use compared with no or non-regular use. Significant associations, when present, suggested better survival for mobile phone users; results were reported as similar for high-grade and low-grade gliomas.",
    "effect_direction": "no_effect",
    "limitations": [
        "Exposure details (e.g., RF frequency, SAR) not reported in abstract",
        "Observational analysis; potential for residual confounding despite covariate adjustment",
        "Mobile phone use assessed pre-diagnosis; measurement method not described in abstract"
    ],
    "evidence_strength": "low",
    "confidence": 0.7800000000000000266453525910037569701671600341796875,
    "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
    "keywords": [
        "glioma",
        "glioblastoma",
        "survival",
        "mobile phone use",
        "RF-EMF",
        "Denmark",
        "Finland",
        "Sweden",
        "Cox regression",
        "hazard ratio"
    ],
    "suggested_hubs": [
        {
            "slug": "mobile-phones-and-brain-tumors",
            "weight": 0.90000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625,
            "reason": "Examines mobile phone use (RF-EMF) in relation to outcomes among glioma/glioblastoma patients."
        }
    ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract/metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.

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