London, April 2:

Using a cell phone for long periods could lead to malignant brain tumours, says a new study contradicting earlier findings which found no such link. Earlier studies did not find evidences that radiation from cell phones was linked with elevated brain tumour risk although the damaging effect of cell phone use has been suspected for long.

Those who used a cell phone for 2,000 hours or for one hour a day over a period of more than 10 years increase their risk of a malignant brain tumour on the side of the head, according to a new study published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. Researchers led by Kjell Mild, of the Swedish National Institute for Working Life, compared cell phone use of 2,200 patients with malignant tumours and an equal number of healthy control cases.

Among the tumour patients (aged 20 to 80), 905 had a malignant brain tumour and one third of them were heavy users of cell phones, it said.

“Of these 905 cases, 85 were high users of mobile phones,” the study authors said. Children should avoid using cell phones whenever possible because they are most vulnerable to tumour risk than adults, the study warned.