Title: Mobile Phone Use, Brain Tumor Risk and Public Health Policy
1Mobile Phone Use, Brain Tumor Risk and Public
Health Policy
- Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
- Center for Family and Community
- School of Public Health
- University of California, Berkeley
- The Commonwealth Club
- November 18, 2010
2Overview
- Review studies of mobile phone use and tumor risk
- Results of 2010 Interphone Study paper
- Trends in cell phone use in U.S.
- Public health policy options
3Meta-analysis publication
- Mobile Phone Use and Risk of Tumors A
Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Oncology,
27(33)5565-72. 2009. - Seung-Kwon Myung, National Cancer Center, S.
Korea - Woong Ju, Ewha Womans University, S. Korea
- Yeon Li Gee, Seoul National Univ. Hospital, S.
Korea - Chih-Tao Cheng, Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer
Center, Taiwan - Diana McDonnell, Gene Kazinets, and Joel M.
Moskowitz, UC Berkeley - http//jco.ascopubs.org/content/27/33/5565.abstrac
t
4Meta-analysis study selection
- One cohort study
- No association between cell phone use and brain
tumor risk - Weak study
- 23 case-control studies
- 37,916 participants12,344 patient cases 25,572
controls
5Meta-analysis case-control study
- What is a case-control study?
- Compare cases to matched controls.
- Determine if characteristics differ between 2
groups. - Exposure is mobile phone use.
- Compute Odds Ratio (OR)
- (Odds of having tumor for people using phones)
(Odds of having tumor for people not using
phones) - OR interpreted as Relative Risk
- lt 1 reduced risk, 1 no risk, gt 1 increased
risk
6Meta-analysis overall tumor risk
- Overall no association between mobile phone use
tumor risk (OR 0.98 n 23 studies) - High research qualityincreased tumor risk
- govt. or foundation-funded (OR1.17 n 8)
- Low research qualityreduced tumor risk
- mostly industry-funded (OR 0.85 n15)
7Meta-analysis brain tumor risk for 10 years
mobile phone use
- Overall increased brain tumor risk (OR 1.24 n
8) - High quality increased risk Hardell (OR
1.54 n 4) - Low quality no risk Interphone (OR 1.00 n
4)
8Meta-analysis lessons learned
- Know
- Increased brain tumor risk for 10 years
- Results vary
- Research quality
- Research group
- 19942004
- Dont Know?
- Longer durations
- Heavier use
- Children teens
- 2005 and beyond
- Other tumors health risks
9Interphone study
- 13 nation case-control study
- funded by World Health Org. Industry (25
million) - 2010 - overall results for 2 brain tumors
reported - meningioma (n 2,409) and glioma (n 2,708)
- 2000-2004 - data collected
- average lifetime cell phone use lt 100 hours
- Numerous shortcomings ? bias
- Reduce estimates of tumor risk
10Interphone study results
- Meningioma Risk
- Any regular use -- reduced risk
- After bias correction no risk
- Glioma Risk
- Any regular use -- reduced risk
- likely due to bias
- Heavy use (1,640 hrs) -- increased risk
(OR1.40) - replicates in 44 tests
- greater after bias correction (OR1.82)
- Dose-response relationship w/ more years of use
- after bias correction 10-yr risk (OR2.18)
11Tumor risk for 10 yrs. cell phone use by study
group tumor type
?
?
?
Relative Risk lt 1 protective, 1 no risk, gt
1 harmful Interphone results from Appendix 2
Table (corrects for bias)
12Mobile Phone Use in U.S.
2010 -- 293 million subscribers 2.5 hours/
week CTIA, 10/6/10
1985 -- 203,000
13U.S. government position
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, May 2010
14Public health policy options
- U.S. govt. position
- Cell phones meet safety standards
- Wait for conclusive evidence
- Invest in minimal research funding
- Our position
- Precautionary principle
- Harm reduction approach
- Safe use recommendations
- Precautionary health warnings
- Update safety standards
- Call for major government research funding
initiative
15Precautionary Principle
16Policy Precautionary warnings
HP1207, LD 1706, 124th Maine State Legislature,
2009-2010 An Act To Create the Children's
Wireless Protection Act
17Policy independent research
18Contact information
- Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
- Center for Family and Community
- School of Public Health
- University of California, Berkeley
- jmm_at_berkeley.edu
- A CDC Center for Health Promotion
- and Disease Prevention Research