Glioma incidence and survival variations by county‐level socioeconomic measures

Abstract

Background

Multiple studies have reported higher rates of glioma in areas with higher socioeconomic status (SES) but to the authors' knowledge have not stratified by other factors, including race/ethnicity or urban versus rural location.

Methods

The authors identified the average annual age‐adjusted incidence rates and calculated hazard ratios for death for gliomas of various subtypes, stratified by a county‐level index for SES, race/ethnicity, US region, and rural versus urban status.

Results

Rates of glioma were highest in counties with higher SES (rate ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.15‐1.22 comparing the highest with the lowest quintiles [P < .001]). Stratified by race/ethnicity, higher rates in high SES counties persisted for white non‐Hispanic individuals. Stratified by rural versus urban status, differences in incidence by SES were more pronounced among urban counties. Survival was higher for residents of high SES counties after adjustment for age and extent of surgical resection (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.76‐0.87 comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of SES [P < .001]). Survival was higher among white Hispanic, black, and Asian/Pacific Islander individuals compared with white non‐Hispanic individuals, after adjustment for age, SES, and extent of surgical resection, and when restricted to those individuals with glioblastoma who received radiation and chemotherapy.

Conclusions

The incidence of glioma was higher in US counties of high compared with low SES. These differences were most pronounced among white non‐Hispanic individuals and white Hispanic individuals residing in urban areas. Better survival was observed in high SES counties, even when adjusting for extent of surgical resection, and when restricted to those who received radiation and chemotherapy for glioblastoma. Differences in incidence and survival were associated with SES and race, rather than rural versus urban status.

Source

Glioblastoma Rising in Denmark, Much as in England

True Increases or Artifacts?

New government data, released in May by a member of the Danish Parliament, show a near doubling of glioblastoma (GBM), a usually fatal brain tumor, in Denmark since the year 2000.

Equally provocative: The trend is very similar to what was reported in England last year.

Take a look at some graphs and decide for yourself whether these trends are worth talking about. The RF establishment would have me believe this isn't real. I need to be convinced.

In a companion article, I describe how no one at the Danish Cancer Society was willing to comment on any of this, though at the same time a Society staffer advanced industry-friendly soundbites on national radio.

It appears that the Danish establishment wants to make sure nothing jeopardizes its new 5G network. One notable exception: Julius Graakjaer Grantzau, the MP who released the GBM data. He has some interesting things to say about the 5G rollout.

Louis Slesin, PhD

Editor, Microwave News

louis@microwavenews.com http://microwavenews.com
@microwavenews.com

Glioblastomas Have Doubled in Number in England Since Mobile Phones Were Introduced in 1995

On October 28, 2018, Microwave News published a report on two research teams from UK, in which each had observed a rise in glioblastoma in England between 1995 and 2014. Glioblastomas are the most malignant brain tumours leading to death in nearly 100% of the cases shortly after detection (1).

While incidence and location of the brain tumours were comparable in both studies, the conclusions about the pathogenesis of the tumours were different. Philips et al. (2) see the cause for the rise in glioblastoma in the increasing use of mobile phones, while de Vocht (3) is of the opinion that such an assumption can be excluded with a high probability. This dispute is in some way evocative of the controversy between the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP). In the $ 30-million study, the NTP detected malignant schwannoma in the heart and glioblastoma in the brain of male rats after exposure to mobile phone radiation for a period of two years. ICNIRP, a non-governmental organization under the undisclosed control of the telecommunication industry, which is responsible for the establishment of safety limits for non-ionizing radiation in Europe and beyond, tried to play down the significance of the NTP findings by casting doubts on their reliability. While ICNIRP has totally ignored any progress of research since the turn of the century (4), de Vocht based his findings on what he calls “synthetic counterfactuals”, which sounds – rightly or wrongly – more like “alternative facts”.

Source

Prof. Adlkofer discusses carcinogenicity of RF radiation, electrosensitivity, NTP study, 5G, ICNIRP and mobile communication industry

Prof. Franz Adlkofer

Prof. Dr. med. Franz Adlkofer, born in 1935, received his doctorate from the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich in 1965 and his post-doctoral education in internal medicine from the Free University of Berlin till 1976. From 1976 to 1992 Prof. Adlkofer worked for the industry. Since 1992 he is Executive Director and since 2002 Member of the Board of VERUM - Foundation for Behaviour and Environment in Munich. His special interest concentrates on the investigation of diseases caused by behaviour and environment. Until 2004 he lectured on this topic at the Free University of Berlin. 

To investigate the biological effects of electromagnetic fields, Prof. Adlkofer organized and coordinated the EU-funded research project REFLEX between 1999 and 2004. In addition, the VERUM Foundation promoted complementary research and sponsored numerous scientific workshops in this area. Prof. Adlkofer is author and co-author of many scientific papers and presentations at national and international meetings.

Final summary of the REFLEX research project: https://www.bems.org/node/592

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Glioblastomas Have Doubled in Number in England Since Mobile Phones Were Introduced in 1995
Prof. Franz Adlkofer, Pandora Foundation, Mar 19, 2019

On October 28, 2018, Microwave News published a report on two research teams from UK, in which each had observed a rise in glioblastoma in England between 1995 and 2014. Glioblastomas are the most malignant brain tumours leading to death in nearly 100% of the cases shortly after detection (1). 

While incidence and location of the brain tumours were comparable in both studies, the conclusions about the pathogenesis of the tumours were different. Philips et al. (2) see the cause for the rise in glioblastoma in the increasing use of mobile phones, while de Vocht (3) is of the opinion that such an  assumption can be excluded with a high probability. This dispute is in some way evocative of the controversy between the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP). In the $ 30-million study, the NTP detected malignant schwannoma in the heart and glioblastoma in the brain of male rats after exposure to mobile phone radiation for a period of two years. ICNIRP, a non-governmental organization under the undisclosed control of the telecommunication industry, which is responsible for the establishment of safety limits for non-ionizing radiation in Europe and beyond, tried to play down the significance of the NTP findings by casting doubts on their reliability. While ICNIRP has totally ignored any progress of research since the turn of the century (4), de Vocht based his findings on what he calls “synthetic counterfactuals”, which sounds – rightly or wrongly – more like “alternative facts”.


Excerpts

"If a chemical compound gives evidence for a carcinogenic effect in in-vitro, as well as in animal and epidemiological studies, the probability approaches certainty that this agent is carcinogenic for humans. Mobile phone radiation causes genetic damage in isolated human cells: shown in the REFLEX Study and others; it causes malignant tumours in the hearts and brains of male rats and genetic damage in the brain of rats and mice: proven in the NTP Study; it causes glioblastoma in long-term users of mobile phones: revealed in epidemiological studies by Hardell et al. among others. If it needed any further proof, Philips et al. and unintentionally also de Vocht did provide it with their recent research results. Therefore, it must be assumed that mobile communication radiation generated by 1G (sic) up to 4G (sic) causes among other diseases cancer in humans. In the long term, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, which in 2011 classified mobile communication radiation as being “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, will not be able to withstand any longer the demand from independent science to finally adjust the classification to the reality of: “carcinogenic to humans.” ....

"As it looks like, the mobile communication industry and politics today silently assume that the publicdiscussion on possible health risks through mobile phone radiation may slowly abate after the introduction of the new 5G (sic) standard necessary for the intended digitization of the world. Since G5radiation rarely penetrates the human skin, they in advance of any research obviously rule out a further rise in glioblastoma in the brain – so far the most terrible outcome – and optimistically alsoall the other hazardous effects on the human body. 

Independent scientists strongly doubt that the assumption is justified since the skin, the largest organ of the human body, may not be able to protect people from the effects of the 5G radiation, which presents an entirely new challenge to the all life on earth. So far no research has been carried out which allows the conclusion that 5G radiation is safer than the preceding 1G up to 4G standards. 

The 5G standard, too, will be inflicted upon human society without any prior check of its compatibility with health. However, the few results available so far indicate that 5G radiation may lead to permanent tissue damage even after short exposures (11). These findings are reason enough to advise caution, but they will obviously be totally ignored."

Read the full report

https://pandora-foundation.eu/2019/03/19/glioblastomas-have-doubled-in-number-in-england-since-mobile-phones-were-introduced-in-1995/

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How the Mobile Communication Industry Deals with Science as Illustrated by ICNIRP versus NTP

Prof. Franz Adlkofer, Pandora Foundation,  Oct 26, 2018  

The development of mobile communication technologies starting with 1G up to now 5G is a success story rarely heard of previously. It has only been possible because industry experts in charge of the technology assumed that radiofrequency (RF) radiation and its modulations – similar to visible light – are biologically harmless. They believed in safety limits that reliably protect people only from the acute thermal effects of RF radiation inherent in the system. Biological effects below the safety limits were categorically ruled out because their existence allegedly contradicted the laws of physics.

So, the technical use of RF radiation in mobile communication has experienced hardly any limitation. Doubts about the harmlessness of this radiation, just as old as the technique itself, have been countered by the mobile communication industry as wrong and without basis. Compliant scientists, whose preferred opinion was more important than their qualifications, were generously supported and, by using political connections, placed in national and international advisory and decision-making bodies.

A milestone in putting through the interests of the mobile communication industry was the establishment of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in 1992. It is a non-governmental organization. Michael Repacholi, then head of the WHO’s EMF Project, managed to get official recognition for this group by the WHO as well as the EU and a series of its member states, among them Germany. Repacholi, first ICNIRP chairman and later emeritus – member, left the WHO after allegations of corruption in 2006 and found a new position as a consultant to an American electricity provider. ICNIRP’s most important task is the establishment of safety limits for non-ionizing radiation including RF radiation. Its decisions are of utmost importance for the mobile communication industry’s economic and strategic planning. The ICNIRP, whose members are convinced of the harmlessness of RF radiation, has never changed its attitude despite all research progress made in this field since 1992. To guarantee that the mobile communication industry can permanently rely on ICNIRP, the succession of a member who leaves is regulated by statute. The remaining members select the new one on the basis of mutual understanding. Together with the other groups mentioned above ICNIRP has ensured that mobile communication industry is not only dominating the technical research to which it is entitled to, but also the biological research – this at the expense of the human health.


Von Franz Adlkofer | Pandora Foundation for independent research

Read the full report

https://pandora-foundation.eu/2018/10/26/how-the-mobile-communication-industry-deals-with-science-as-illustrated-by-icnirp-versus-ntp/

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Electrosensitivity: as experienced by an electrosensitive person and assessed by scientists

Prof. Franz Adlkofer, Pandora Foundation, Mar 9, 2016

On February 13, 2013, the body of Carsten Häublein a former pastor from Ammertal, was recovered from the river Schlei in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). From the available evidence, it was concluded that he had taken his own life. After seven years of suffering whenever he was exposed to mobile communication radiation (RF-EMF), he obviously had lost the courage to continue this way of life.


The Häublein case is an example of a tragedy in Europe, where thousands of people suffering from the aftereffects of electrosensitivity are classified as psychologically peculiar or even mentally disturbed. The sole reason of this claim is to deny RF-EMF being the cause of this suffering. Since 2006, pastor Häublein was strongly committed to have electrosensitivity regarded as an environmental illness.

Let us hope that courageous judges will be found not only in France who understand the basis for electrosensitivity, who question the rationale for the safety limits and who provide justice to electrosensitive people.

Prof. Franz Adlkofer published to the third anniversary of the death of Father Häublein this report.


Read the full report

https://pandora-foundation.eu/2016/03/09/electrosensitivity-the-haublein-case/

-- 

Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley

Electromagnetic Radiation Safety

Website:          https://www.saferemr.com

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/SaferEMR
Twitter:            @berkeleyprc

Source

Gliomas Increase, Most Common Cancer in 15-19 year olds. Studies and Statistics

Via A Tsiang

A glioma is a type of malignant tumor that starts in the brain or spine. It is called a glioma because it arises from glial cells.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioma

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), a type of glioma, which is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, has increased in incidence (see below).  It is the same type of cancer which killed Senator John Mc Cain, Ted Kennedy, Johnnie Cochran, and which has afflicted Maria Menounos' mother. 

 

Myelin is the protective layer around nerve cells, analogous to the plastic coating insulating electrical wires.

Myelin is an outgrowth of a type of glial cell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelin

Damage to myelin causes neurological problems, such as numbness, paraethesia (prickling and burning sensations), headaches, memory and concentration impairment, irritability, anxiety, and confusion (including among children). These are also symptoms in electrohypersensitivity, or EHS.

Demyelination occurs in diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Malignant schwannoma is a very rare type of cancer in the Schwann cells, also a type of glial cell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwann_cell

Gliomas Now Most Common Cancer in 15-19 year olds, Increasing Worldwide

Forecast for 2019-2025 shows an "Increase in prevalence of brain tumours (According to U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) glioblastoma multiforme is considered as the most aggressive form of brain cancer with 15.4% of all primary brain tumours and about 60% – 75% of all astrocytoma) driving the growth of glioblastoma multiforme treatment market. North America dominates the glioblastoma multiforme treatment market .. North America region growth is attributed to increase in the prevalence of glioblastoma multiforme disease (According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011, approximately 22,000 adults in the U.S. were diagnosed with primary malignant tumours of the brain and spinal cord out of which gliomas accounted for the highest rate of incidence)"   https://precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-glioblastoma-multiforme-treatment-market/

 

 A report published in 2015 in the journal Neuro-Oncology finds that gliomas are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in adolescents and young adults aged 15-39 and the most common cancer occurring among 15-19 year olds  (see p. 18 of study  http://neuro-oncology.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/suppl_1/i1.full.pdf+html?sid=fe341f7a-b6c5-4ac2-ae9f-6c2d4f54cc08) 

GBM has increased according to studies from around the world, with the highest increases in the frontal and temporal lobes  https://www.saferemr.com/search?q=glioblastoma

(see below for data from England, US, and Netherlands)

4 Studies: Wireless radiation causing gliomas, Schwannomas, myelin damage

1) The US government National Toxicology Program's $30 million study showed that 3% of rats that were exposed to cell phone radiation developed gliomas, whereas rats that were not exposed did NOT develop gliomas. The rats also developed malignant Schwannomas.  Results were statistically significant - it's preliminary May 2016 report here http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/05/26/055699.full.pdf+html  

In November 2018, the NTP published its cell phone safety sheet based on its study.  It states: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/cell_phone_radiofrequency_radiation_studies_508.pdf

• Clear evidence of tumors in the hearts of male rats. The tumors were malignant schwannomas.
• Some evidence of tumors in the brains of male rats. The tumors were malignant gliomas.

2) Kim, Ju Hwan, et al. “Long-term exposure to 835 MHz RF-EMF induces hyperactivity, autophagy and demyelination in the cortical neurons of mice.” Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 41129, 2017. 

found that RF-EMF exposure led to myelin sheath damage and hyperactivity-like behaviour in mice exposed to 835 MHz RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 4.0 W/kg for 5 hours/day during 12 weeks.  Demyelination was induced in cortical neurons following prolonged RF-EMF exposure and suggests a potential cause of neurological or neurobehavioural disorders. 

Full text https://www.nature.com/articles/srep41129.pdf

3) Redmayne M, Johansson O. Could myelin damage from radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure help explain the functional impairment electrohypersensitivity? A review of the evidence.Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, vol. 17, no. 5, 2014, pp. 247-58.

"considers the evidence for an association between myelin integrity and exposure to low-intensity radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) 

Overall, evidence from in vivo and in vitro and epidemiological studies suggests an association between RF-EMF exposure and either myelin deterioration or a direct impact on neuronal conduction, which may account for many electrohypersensitivity symptoms. The most vulnerable are likely to be those in utero through to at least mid-teen years, as well as ill and elderly individuals."

Full Text http://www.avaate.org/IMG/pdf/redmayne_johansson_2014.pdf

4)  Johansson O, Redmayne M, “Exacerbation of demyelinating syndrome after exposure to wireless modem with public hotspot”, Electromagn Biol Med 2016, 29:1-5 
 

This is a case study of a Colorado woman who experienced a return of her demyelination symptoms (seizures, vertigo, headaches, sleeping problems) following exposure to her neighbor's (Xfinity) Home Wi-Fi Modem with Public Hotspot in August 2014.  

After her neighbor replaced the modem with one without the hotspot feature, the seizures stopped immediately, and the other symptoms faded gradually, after which she was fine and 

again could sleep well. Later, when another neighbor obtained the same modem with activated hotspot, her symptoms returned.

 

A possible association between electrohypersensitivity, myelin integrity and exposure to low-intensity radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has recently been proposed. Since the West Nile virus attacks both the nerve cells and the glial ones, one explanation to the above observed case effects is that the initial virus attack and the wireless modem’s RF-EMF affect the nervous system through the very same, or similar, avenues, and maybe both via the oligodendrocytes 

Full Text https://comitatotutelamonteporziocatone.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/johansson-redmayne-2016.pdf 

NY Times Best Selling Author Elana Amsterdam from Colorado shares a similar story - how high levels of wireless EMF in her "smart" home triggered a recurrence of her Multiple Sclerosis symptoms in 2014 https://elanaspantry.com/green-house-almost-killed/  She was diagnosed with MS in 2006 and was able to keep it under control with a healthy Paleo diet.  After moving into a her new "smart" home in 2014, her MS returned, and she ended up in the hospital, numb from the neck down .  She wasn't recovering despite her best efforts.  In 2016, after doing research on the health effects of wireless radiation and making the connection that wireless radiation was causing her symptoms, she removed all wireless technology from her home and is now on the road to recovery.   

Xfinity Wi-Fi routers with public hot spot

(if you are a Comcast/Xfinity customer, you probably have a modem with a public hotspot feature since this equipment became their standard issue in 2014.  Xfinity's home wireless gateway modems have 2 lines of Wi-Fi - one for your household use, and another for public hotspot use - use of one does not affect speeds/capacity of the other, and there are no security issues since they are separate lines.  However, you are paying for the power to supply wi-fi to the public hotspot range of 100m around your modem and you are exposing yourself to much higher wireless radiation levels with a public hotspot on your router,   Here's more info. about the home hotspot feature and a video that explains it, and a link to disable the public hotspot feature on your Xfinity modem.  http://wifi.xfinity.com/  In April 2017, xfinity launched its nationwide mobile service which depends on the public wi-fi hot spots in these modems.  You will know if you are within range of an Xfinity hot spot if your smartphone/ipad/laptop shows that there is "xfinitywifi" available in the list of wireless networks. Disabling the Wi-Fi hot spot requires a separate procedure from disabling the Wi-Fi for your household use on the modem.  To turn off the Wi-Fi for your household use, such as when you go to sleep at night, type in 10.0.0.1 in your browser window.  login (user: admin), select connection, select wi-fi, select edit, select disable (to turn back on, do the same thing, but in the last step, select enable) ) 

Gliomas Increasing Worldwide - Data from England, US, Netherlands

• In a study done in England looking at GBMs from 1995-2015   https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2018/7910754/ frontal lobe GBM increased from 533 to 1231, statistically significant increase in primary GBM tumours were seen, especially in frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.temporal lobe GBM increased from 334 to 994.  The increase was attributed to an environmental factor

Microwave News. “Aggressive Brain Tumors on the Rise in England.” March 25, 2018. http://microwavenews.com/news-center/gbms-rising-uk

Source: Alasdair Philips via Microwave News.

• In the US, The National Cancer Institute reported that glioma incidence in the frontal lobe increased among young adults 20-29 years of age (Inskip et al., 2010).   The incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which accounts for about half of all gliomas, increased in the frontal and temporal lobes, and in the cerebellum among adults in the U.S. from 1992-2006 (Zada et al., 2012). 

• data from The Netherlands. The black segment of each column tracks the incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and deadly type of brain tumors. While the total incidence of all types of brain tumors in The Netherlands rose at the rate of only about 0.7% per year, the increase in GBM was about 3.1% per year —that is, the incidence more than doubled over the period 1989-2010. (Follow the thin red line we superimposed on the histogram to track the trend.) This is a statistically significant increase. At the same time, the rate of all the other types of brain tumors went down; these changes are also significant. The higher incidence of GBMs is being masked by the lower rates of the other types of brain cancer.  

 EAPC stands for estimated annual percentage change
Source: Adapted from Ho et al, European Journal of Cancer, 2014, p.231

Source:  http://microwavenews.com/news-center/ntp-and-brain-tumor-rates 

 

Risk of glioma from cell phone and cordless phone use

Three independent, case-control studies have found that long-term use of cell phones increases risk for glioma (Interphone Study Group, 2010; Hardell et al, 2013; Coureau et al, 2014). The only research to examine cordless phone use also found increased glioma risk with long-term use (Hardell et al, 2013). These studies include data from 13 nations: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the UK. After ten years of wireless phone use (i.e., cell phone plus cordless phone use), the risk of glioma doubles and after 25 years, the risk triples (Hardell et al, 2013).