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

Anticancer Res. · 2019 · Mixed · Moderate evidence

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MixedModerate evidencePaper 1888

The study found no overall increased incidence of gliomas in Sweden from 1980 to 2012 despite increased mobile phone usage. There was a slight decrease in low-grade gliomas and a slight increase in high-grade gliomas in the 60-74 age group. Trends were estima…

Study snapshot

PublicationAnticancer Res. · 2019

Study typeecological

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

No Evidence for Increased Brain Tumor Incidence in the Swedish National Cancer Register Between 1980-2012 Nilsson J, Järås J, Henriksson R, Holgersson G, Bergström S, Estenberg J, Augustsson T, Bergqvist M. No evidence for increased brain tumour incidence in the Swedish National Cancer Register between years 1980-2012. Anticancer Res. 2019 Feb;39(2):791-796. 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. Excerpt: " For HGG, there was a trend for slightly decreased incidence in the age group 0-39 years (incidence trend estimate=−0.004, 95% CI=−0.006-−0.001; p=0.005) and a trend for mildly increased incidence in the age group 60-74 years (incidence trend estimate=0.006, 95% CI=0.001-0.012; p=0.029)." Open access paper: ar.iiarjournals.org Note: The title of this paper is misleading as the authors found an increased incidence of high-grade gliomas from 1980 to 2012 in the age group 60-74. The authors did not provide a justification for performing a linear regression on the age-standardized incidence rates. How likely is it that a linear model is appropriate to explain a 32-year trend? And even if a linear model were appropriate, since this is a time series where there is likely autocorrelation, the p-values from a linear regression are meaningless.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeecological

Effect directionmixed

PopulationSwedish population

Sample sizeNot supplied

Exposure1980-2012

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 60% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

incidence of meningiomas
incidence of low-grade gliomas
incidence of high-grade gliomas

Limitations

Use of linear regression on age-standardized incidence rates without justification
Potential autocorrelation in time series data making p-values from linear regression unreliable
Title may be misleading relative to some subgroup findings

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "ecological",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "mobile phone usage",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1980-2012"
  },
  "population": "Swedish population",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "incidence of meningiomas",
    "incidence of low-grade gliomas",
    "incidence of high-grade gliomas"
  ],
  "main_findings": "The study found no overall increased incidence of gliomas in Sweden from 1980 to 2012 despite increased mobile phone usage. There was a slight decrease in low-grade gliomas and a slight increase in high-grade gliomas in the 60-74 age group. Trends were estimated using linear regression on age-standardized incidence rates.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Use of linear regression on age-standardized incidence rates without justification",
    "Potential autocorrelation in time series data making p-values from linear regression unreliable",
    "Title may be misleading relative to some subgroup findings"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.6,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "brain tumor incidence",
    "glioma",
    "meningioma",
    "mobile phone usage",
    "cancer registry",
    "epidemiology",
    "Sweden"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phone-exposure",
      "weight": 0.8,
      "reason": "Study period coincides with increased mobile phone usage and brain tumor incidence trends."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.21873/anticanres.13176
PubMed: Not supplied

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