Increasing rates of brain tumours in the swedish national inpatient register and the causes of death register
2015 (English)In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 12, no 4, p. 3793-3813Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Radiofrequency emissions in the frequency range 30 kHz-300 GHz were evaluated to be Group 2B, i.e., "possibly", carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at WHO in May 2011. The Swedish Cancer Register has not shown increasing incidence of brain tumours in recent years and has been used to dismiss epidemiological evidence on a risk. In this study we used the Swedish National Inpatient Register (IPR) and Causes of Death Register (CDR) to further study the incidence comparing with the Cancer Register data for the time period 1998-2013 using joinpoint regression analysis. In the IPR we found a joinpoint in 2007 with Annual Percentage Change (APC) +4.25%, 95% CI +1.98, +6.57% during 2007-2013 for tumours of unknown type in the brain or CNS. In the CDR joinpoint regression found one joinpoint in 2008 with APC during 2008-2013 +22.60%, 95% CI +9.68, +37.03%. These tumour diagnoses would be based on clinical examination, mainly CT and/or MRI, but without histopathology or cytology. No statistically significant increasing incidence was found in the Swedish Cancer Register during these years. We postulate that a large part of brain tumours of unknown type are never reported to the Cancer Register. Furthermore, the frequency of diagnosis based on autopsy has declined substantially due to a general decline of autopsies in Sweden adding further to missing cases. We conclude that the Swedish Cancer Register is not reliable to be used to dismiss results in epidemiological studies on the use of wireless phones and brain tumour risk.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2015. Vol. 12, no 4, p. 3793-3813
Keywords [en]
Brain tumour incidence; Cancer register; Causes of Death Register; Cordless phone; Mobile phone; Radiofrequency fields; Swedish National Inpatient Register
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Enviromental Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-44678DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120403793ISI: 000353488500025PubMedID: 25854296Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84927534730OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-44678DiVA, id: diva2:813246
Funder
Cancer and Allergy Foundation
Note
Funding Agencies:
Cancerhjälpen
Pandora-Foundation for Independent Research, Berlin, Germany
Kone Foundation, Helsinki, Finland
2015-05-222015-05-222018-06-30Bibliographically approved