Childhood and adolescence brain cancer from exposure to radiofrequency fields.
Abstract
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The very rapid worldwide increase in mobile phone use in the last decade has generated considerable interest in the possible health effects of exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields. Of particular concern in recent years has been the growing use of mobile phones among children. This project aims at assessing the potential carcinogenic effects of childhood and adolescence exposure to RF from mobile phones on the central nervous system.
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Partners
Association pour la Recherche Epidémiologique dans les Cancers de l’Enfant et l’Adolescent (ARE-CEA) – Registre National des Tumeurs Solides de l’Enfant (RNTSE)
http://www.chu-nancy.fr/rntse/
Faculty of medicine – Lyon 1
UMRESTTE, UMR 9405 INRETS-LYON 1 – InVS
Unité Epidémiologie environnementale des cancers INSERM U754
http://www.u754.idf.inserm.fr/
Contact
Brigitte LACOUR
Association pour la Recherche Epidémiologique dans les Cancers de l’Enfant et l’Adolescent (ARECEA)
Duration
36 months
Summary
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1) Introduction
In order to analyse the relation between the risk of brain tumours and exposures to elec-tromagnetic fields and RF from mobile phones and other relevant sources in the general environment, an epidemiological study of brain tumours diagnosed in young people will be carried out. Part of the European MOBI Kids project, it will benefit from the expertise and the synergy of this European consortium.
Key-words: adolescence, brain tumour, childhood, electromagnetic fields, mobile phone, radiofrequencies.
2) State of the art
In most studies among adults, the relative risk related to ever having been a regular mobile phone user is not significantly increased. However, for glioma and acoustic neurinoma a significantly increased risk related to use of mobile phones for a period of 10 years or more, on the side of the head where the tumour developed, has recently been reported. For parotid gland tumours, in a population which includes a high proportion of heavy users of mobile phones, a number of results suggest a possible relation with heavy mobile phone use.
No results have been reported for children and adolescents so far. The MOBY Kids large-scale collaborative studies ensure a high statistical power, despite the low prevalence of use of mobile phones in children 5-10 years ago, and the cancer risk, if any, expected to be relatively small. They represent therefore a unique opportunity to investigate whether RF fields emitted by mobile phones are carcinogenic to children and adolescents.
3) Scientific methodology
This study is designed as a case-control study of brain tumours. These tumours have been chosen as they occur in some of the tissues thought to have the highest exposure to RF and ELF from mobile phones. Brain tumours in the age-range 10 to 24, diagnosed over a period of 3 years will be considered. It is anticipated to enrol 235 cases in France, with two hospital controls per case, in several University hospitals.