A new study shows that mobile phone use is linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer. The risk was 2.8 times higher for men who had used their mobile phones for more than 10 years. This is the first study to date to examine the link between prostate cancer and mobile phone use. Previous studies have shown an increased risk of malignant brain tumours and tumours of the auditory nerve from mobile phone use. A few studies have shown associations with thyroid cancer and breast cancer.
The first study to date in the world to investigate whether mobile phone use increases the risk of prostate cancer was published on 4 April 2025 in the Fortune Journal of Health Sciences. The study was conducted by Swedish researcher and oncologist Lennart Hardell and Michael Carlberg. The new study investigated mobile phone use among 253 Swedish men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The results show that the risk of prostate cancer was significantly increased for men who used mobile phones and that the risk is higher for those who have used the mobile phone the most and for the longest period of time. Use over a total of 1000 hours significantly increased the risk by 2.3 times. For men who had used the phone over ten years, the risk was increased 2.8 times.
The researchers behind the new study point out that an indication of increased risk of prostate cancer was also shown in the largest animal study on the risk of cancer due to exposure to mobile phone radiation ever, the so-called NTP study. In particular, the NTP study showed an increased risk of malignant brain tumours and the same type of tumour that occurs in auditory nerve tumours, as well as an increased incidence of DNA damage. The DNA damage was mainly observed in the frontal lobe and hippocampus of the brain and in blood cells.
IARC cancer classification
In 2011, mobile phone radiation was classified as ‘possibly carcinogenic’, group 2B according to the WHO Agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The assessment was made by 31 leading experts in the field of cancer risks and radiofrequency radiation, the kind of radiation emitted by mobile phone technology. It was based primarily on several studies reporting an increased risk of malignant brain tumours and tumours of the auditory nerve as a result of mobile phone use. Lennart Hardell’s and Michael Carlberg’s studies were among the studies that the decision was based upon together with the large WHO Interphone study.
Since then, other studies have provided increasing evidence that radio frequency radiation emitted from mobile phones and mobile phone technology increases the risk of cancer. For example, two large animal studies have reported an increased risk of cancer and, in addition, a large number of results have shown an increased risk of DNA damage and oxidative stress, which may be underlying causes of cancer development.
References:
Lennart Hardell, Michael Carlberg. Use of Mobile and Cordless Phones and the Association with Prostate Cancer. Fortune Journal of Health Sciences, 8 (2025). Link
ICBE-EMF, 2022. Scientific evidence invalidates health assumptions underlying the FCC and ICNIRP exposure limit determinations for radiofrequency radiation: implications for 5G. Link
