CEPHALO STUDY

An international case-control study on brain tumours in children and adolescents

The CEFALO study is a multinational case-control study to investigate whether the use of mobile phones increases the risk of developing brain tumors for children or adolescents aged 7 to 19 years. The case-control studies were conducted in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland in the time period 2004 to 2008.

Study design
Cases will be identified through a combination of registry data and information from the wards treating the patients. All incident cases of brain tumour in the age group 7-19 years between May 2004 and April 2008 were invited to participate. In total, the study is expected to include 550 cases of brain tumours in the participating countries, thereof 100 originating from Switzerland. For each case, two control persons will be randomly selected from the general population, matched on age, sex and geographic regions.

Exposure assessment
Information on radiofrequency fields exposure emitted from mobile phones and other potential risk factors for childhood brain tumours was obtained by interview. Information on the number and duration of mobile phone calls was obtained from mobile phone operators and from the information stored in the telephone that is in current use.