Mobile phone use and risk of acoustic neuroma: results of the Interphone case-control study in five North European countries

There is public concern that use of mobile phones could increase the risk of brain tumours. If such an effect exists, acoustic neuroma would be of particular concern because of the proximity of the acoustic nerve to the handset. We conducted, to a shared protocol, six population-based case-control studies in four Nordic countries and the UK to assess the risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to mobile phone use. Data were collected by personal interview from 678 cases of acoustic neuroma and 3553 controls. The risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to regular mobile phone use in the pooled data set was not raised (odds ratio (OR) = 0.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7-1.1). There was no association of risk with duration of use, lifetime cumulative hours of use or number of calls, for phone use overall or for analogue or digital phones separately. Risk of a tumour on the same side of the head as reported phone use was raised for use for 10 years or longer (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1). The study suggests that there is no substantial risk of acoustic neuroma in the first decade after starting mobile phone use. However, an increase in risk after longer term use or after a longer lag period could not be ruled out.     

Estimates of the cancer burden in Europe from radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident

The Chernobyl accident, which occurred April 26, 1986, resulted in a large release of radionuclides, which were deposited over a very wide area, particularly in Europe. Although an increased risk of thyroid cancer in exposed children has been clearly demonstrated in the most contaminated regions, the impact of the accident on the risk of other cancers as well as elsewhere in Europe is less clear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the human cancer burden in Europe as a whole from radioactive fallout from the accident. Average country- and region-specific whole-body and thyroid doses from Chernobyl were estimated using new dosimetric models and radiological data. Numbers of cancer cases and deaths possibly attributable to radiation from Chernobyl were estimated, applying state-of-the-art risk models derived from studies of other irradiated populations. Simultaneously, trends in cancer incidence and mortality were examined over time and by dose level. The risk projections suggest that by now Chernobyl may have caused about 1,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 4,000 cases of other cancers in Europe, representing about 0.01% of all incident cancers since the accident. Models predict that by 2065 about 16,000 (95% UI 3,400-72,000) cases of thyroid cancer and 25,000 (95% UI 11,000-59,000) cases of other cancers may be expected due to radiation from the accident, whereas several hundred million cancer cases are expected from other causes. Although these estimates are subject to considerable uncertainty, they provide an indication of the order of magnitude of the possible impact of the Chernobyl accident. It is unlikely that the cancer burden from the largest radiological accident to date could be detected by monitoring national cancer statistics. Indeed, results of analyses of time trends in cancer incidence and mortality in Europe do not, at present, indicate any increase in cancer rates -- other than of thyroid cancer in the most contaminated regions -- that can be clearly attributed to radiation from the Chernobyl accident.     

Epidemiological data and radiation risk estimates

The results of several major epidemiology studies on populations with particular exposure to ionizing radiation should become available during the first years of the 21(st) century. These studies are expected to provide answers to a number of questions concerning public health and radiation protection. Most of the populations concerned were accidentally exposed to radiation in ex-USSR or elsewhere or in a nuclear industrial context. The results will complete and test information on risk coming from studies among survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs, particularly studies on the effects of low dose exposure and prolonged low-dose exposure, of different types of radiation, and environmental and host-related factors which could modify the risk of radiation-induced effects. These studies are thus important to assess the currently accepted scientific evidence on radiation protection for workers and the general population. In addition, supplementary information on radiation protection could be provided by formal comparisons and analyses combining data from populations with different types of exposure. Finally, in order to provide pertinent information for public health and radiation protection, future epidemiology studies should be targeted and designed to answer specific questions, concerning, for example, the risk for specific populations (children, patients, people with genetic predisposition). An integrated approach, combining epidemiology and studies on the mechanisms of radiation induction should provide particularly pertinent information.     

Review of experiments on multigeneration carcinogenicity: of design, experimental models and analyses

It is widely accepted that parental exposure to a carcinogen may result in an increased risk for cancer in otherwise untreated offspring. Results of a new experiment and a review of published studies on multigeneration carcinogenesis are presented and discussed on the basis of the animal model used and of the design and analysis of the individual experiments. Several of the studies indicate an effect of multigenerational carcinogenesis, characterized by one or more of the following: an increase in tumour incidence (either specific to the carcinogen used or spontaneous, or neither spontaneous nor specific); an increase in tumour multiplicity; or transmission of the initiated state through germ cells. In several other well-conducted experiments, either no multigeneration effect was observed or the results were ambiguous. The clearest, most consistent results are obtained in experiments on mice. The published results, however, cannot preclude the possibility that the observed increases are due to a genetic predisposition rather than to induction of an oncogenic mutation in the germ cells. The studies reviewed here indicate that mothers and fathers may differ in transmission efficiency, but it would be premature to draw definitive conclusions. More work is needed in this field, but it appears that mice may be a more sensitive animal model for the study of multigeneration carcinogenesis experiments than rats. In future studies of this effect, experimental designs which allow for assessment of the relative efficiency of transmission through the mother and the father should be implemented. Care should also be taken to plan experiments that are large enough, and to retain all pertinent information, in particular litter information, in order that clear conclusions can be drawn from the results.     

Occupational exposure to metals and risk of meningioma: a multinational case-control study

The prognosis of patients with WHO grade III gliomas is highly dependent on their genomic status such as the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1/2 mutation and1p/19q co-deletion. However, difficulties have been associated with determining which tumors have certain genomic profiles by preoperative radiographical modalities, and the role of surgical resection in achieving better outcomes remains unclear. This retrospective study included 124 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed grade III gliomas. The genomic status of IDH1/2 and 1p/19q was analyzed in these patients. Tumors were then divided into 3 subgroups based on their genomic status; the IDH 1/2 mutation with the 1p/19q co-deletion (1p/19q co-del), the IDH 1/2 mutation without the 1p/19q co-deletion (non-1p/19q co-del), and the IDH 1/2 wild type (IDH wt). Survival times were compared between patients who underwent gross total resection and those who did not (GTR versus non-GTR). The relationships between genomic statuses and MR imaging characteristics such as ring-like or nodular enhancements by gadolinium, and very low intensity on T1-weighted images with blurry enhancements (T1VL) were also examined. Among all patients with grade III gliomas, GTR patients had longer median survival and progression-free times than those of non-GTR patients (undefined versus 87 months, p?=?0.097, and 124 versus 34 months, p?=?0.059, respectively). No significant differences were observed in survival between GTR and non-GTR patients in the 1p/19q co-del group (p?=?0.14), or between GTR and non-GTR patients in the IDH wt group (26 and 27 months, p?=?0.29). On the other hand, in non-1p/19q co-del group, survival was significantly longer in GTR patients than in non-GTR patients (undefined versus 77 months, p?=?0.005). Radiographically, T1VL was detected in most tumors in the non-1p/19q co-del group (78.2?%), but only 6 (21.4?%) and 17 (41.5?%) tumors in the 1p/19q co-del and IDH wt groups, respectively. A correlation was not found between other genomic subgroups and MR imaging findings. Strict surgical removal is important to improve the prognosis of patients with grade III gliomas, especially for tumors with the IDH 1/2 mutation without the 1p/19q co-deletion. The MR finding of T1VL can be used to select candidates for more radical resection.     

Cancer consequences of the Chernobyl accident in Europe outside the former USSR: A review

The accident which occurred during the night of April 25–26, 1986 in reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine released considerable amounts of radioactive substances into the environment. Outside the former USSR, the highest levels of contamination were recorded in Bulgaria, Austria, Greece and Romania, followed by other countries of Central, Southeast and Northern Europe. Studies of the health consequences of the accident have been carried out in these countries, as well as in other countries in Europe. This report presents the results of a critical review of cancer studies of the exposed population in Europe, carried out on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. Overall, there is no evidence to date of a major public health impact of the Chernobyl accident in the field of cancer in countries of Europe outside the former USSR. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.