No Evidence for Increased Brain Tumour Incidence in the Swedish National Cancer Register Between Years 1980-2012

JONAS NILSSON; JACOB JÄRÅS; ROGER HENRIKSSON; GEORG HOLGERSSON; STEFAN BERGSTRÖM; JIMMY ESTENBERG; TORSTEN AUGUSTSSON; MICHAEL BERGQVIST

doi:10.21873/anticanres.13176

Abstract

Background/Aim: The main objective of this study was to evaluate if there was an increased incidence of brain tumours between years 1980-2012, a time period when mobile phone usage has increased substantially. Materials and Methods: From the Swedish Cancer Registry, cases of meningiomas, low-grade gliomas (LGG) and high-grade gliomas (HGG) were identified in patients between 1980-2012. Direct age-standardised incidence rates were used to calculate incidence trends over time. Results: A total of 13,441 cases of meningiomas, 12,259 cases of high-grade gliomas and 4,555 cases of LGG were reported to the register during the study period. The results suggest that there may be a negative development in the trend for LGG of −0,016 cases per 100,000 and year, corresponding to a mean reduction of approximately 1% per year. Conclusion: The present study was not able to demonstrate an increased incidence of glioma during the past 30 years in Sweden.

Footnotes

This article is freely accessible online.
Funding
The present study was financially supported by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Stiftelsen Gävle Cancerfond.
Conflicts of Interest
The project was ordered and directly financed by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority to study any association between mobile phone usage and brain tumour development. However, the authors independently performed data collection, analysis and interpretation without any restrictions.