Long-term use of both mobile and cordless phones is associated with an increased risk for glioma, the most common type of brain tumor, the latest research on the subject concludes.

The new study shows that the risk for glioma was tripled among those using a wireless phone for more than 25 years and that the risk was also greater for those who had started using mobile or cordless phones before age 20 years.

“Doctors should be very concerned by this and discuss precautions with their patients,” study author Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden, told Medscape Medical News.

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An optical technology for discriminating brain tumors from normal brain may eventually help surgeons in the operating room. Also this week: keeping neuronal growth on the straight and narrow.

New Light on Brain Tumors

When patients with brain tumors undergo surgery, it’s hard for surgeons to tell where tumor ends and normal brain starts, which often means cancerous tissue is left behind. But generous margins may compromise brain function.

Now, a technique known as stimulated Raman scattering microscopy has shown better discrimination in preclinical studies, said investigators led by Sunney Xie, PhD, of Harvard University, who hope to develop the technology into a handheld probe to be used in the operating room.

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