Brain tumor among children and adolescents
Project
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The Cancer Registry of Norway and all paediatric clinics in Norway collaborate on a scientific study that can increase our knowledge of how various environmental factors can affect the risk of developing brain tumours among children and adolescents.
Background
In the period 2008-2009, the Cancer Registry of Norway and the paediatric departments at the major hospitals in Norway conducted a scientific study on risk factors for brain tumours among children aged 7 to 19 years. The purpose was primarily to contribute to knowledge about whether the use of mobile phones among children and adolescents contributed to increasing the risk of brain tumours.
Children and adolescents with brain tumours and their parents were asked a number of questions about various environmental factors they may have been exposed to (e.g. pregnancy, birth and early adolescence). At the same time, a group of randomly selected children and adolescents in the population, who had not been diagnosed with the disease, were asked the same questions. By comparing the responses from the two groups, we can gain new knowledge about whether there are certain factors that affect the risk of children and adolescents developing brain tumours. Increased knowledge of these questions will lead to the fact that in the future it will be possible to prevent the disease.
Main results
In the study, we found no increased risk of developing brain tumours when using mobile phones, and with all the results taken as a whole, we conclude that we do not find support for the use of mobile phones causing brain tumours among children and adolescents.
This data material also gave us the opportunity to investigate whether factors other than the use of mobile phones, such as contact with animals, growing up on farms and various infections, can affect the risk of brain tumours. Furthermore, we have studied the extent to which certain genetic factors and allergies may have an impact on the risk.
Research is currently underway investigating additional genetic conditions that may affect the risk of a brain tumour, and how to choose to treat the disease once it has occurred.
About the project
Team: Steffan Daniel Bos-Haugen Project Manager
REC: The project has been approved by the Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REK) no . 2015/1964
Duration: January 2007 - ongoing
Partners: