Mobile phone use and risk of brain tumours: a systematic review of association between study quality, source of funding, and research outcomes

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This systematic review investigated the association between mobile phone use and brain tumours. The authors investigated whether factors such as source of study funding and quality of studies affected the study results. The review included 22 case-control studies, where 8 studies were part of the INTERPHONE study. The meta‑analysis that was performed on the remaining 14 studies revealed no increased risk of brain tumour (odds ratio, OR = 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI = 0.92 – 1.14). There was an association between long-term mobile phone use (10 years or longer) and brain tumour (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.07 – 1.66). It was found that higher quality studies tended to show a statistically significant association with brain tumours. The authors reported that government-funded studies were generally of higher methodological quality than those partially or fully funded by industry. Somewhat confusingly, the authors also reported that there was no significant association between funding source and study outcomes.

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