Scientists reject evidence linking mobile phones to brain tumours

The findings, pointing to a significant increased risk of tumours for the top 10 per cent of users, were seized upon by groups convinced of the danger from mobile phones.

But leading authors of the 13-nation Interphone study said they almost certainly reflected flaws in the research and that radiation from mobile phones did not trigger brain cancer.

Britain was one of the chief contributors to the Interphone study, which cost 16m and was largely industry-funded.

The research, in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found no raised risk of brain tumours among those who regularly used mobile phones, with regular users even appearing to have a slightly reduced risk. This finding was also dismissed as a probable false result by the authors.

Controversy arose when participants were sorted according to the amount of time they spent on mobile phones. In the top 10 per cent of users, the risk of glioma – the most dangerous form of brain cancer – appeared to be raised by 40 per cent and the risk of a second tumour meningioma by 15 per cent.

Tests designed to uncover study flaws suggested that brain cancer patients were likely to exaggerate when asked questions about mobile phone use.

Professor Patricia McKinney, from Leeds University, said: "Overall, this research has not shown evidence of an increased risk of developing a glioma or meningioma brain tumour as a result of using a mobile phone.

"This is consistent with published biological studies, which have not established any effect of exposure to radiation from mobile phones at a cellular level nor found a mechanism by which cancer could be caused."

Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which co-ordinated the study, said changing patterns of mobile phone use meant further investigation was required.

Grahame Blackwell, from the group WiredChild, said the results raised serious concerns about likely effects on children.

"It's time for the Government to stop saying, like the mobile industry, 'we need more research', and put appropriate warnings on mobile phone packaging."