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Background: Case-control studies suggest that patients with allergic diseases have a lower risk of developing glioma but not meningioma or schwannoma. However, those data can be differentially biased. Prospective studies with objective measurements of immunologic biomarkers, like immunoglobulin E (IgE), in blood obtained before cancer diagnosis could help to clarify whether an aetiological association exists. Methods: The present case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) measured specific serum IgE as a biomarker for the most common inhalant allergens in 275 glioma, 175 meningioma and 49 schwannoma cases and 963 matched controls using the ImmunoCAP specific IgE test. Subjects with an IgE level >= 0.35 kUA/l (kilo antibody units per litre) were classified as sensitized by allergens. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by adjusted conditional logistic regression models for each tumour subtype. The effect of dose-response relationship was assessed in five increasing IgE level categories to estimate P-values for trend. Results: The risk of glioma was inversely related to allergic sensitization (OR = 0.73; 95% CI 0.51-1.06), especially pronounced in women (OR = 0.53; 95% CI 0.30-0.95). In dose-response analyses, for high-grade glioma, the lowest OR was observed in sera with the highest IgE levels (P for trend = 0.04). No association was seen for meningioma and schwannoma. Conclusion: The results, based on serum samples prospectively collected in a cohort study, provide some support for the hypothesis that individuals with allergic sensitization are at reduced risk of glioma and confirm results from previous case-control studies.

International audience; Background: The rapid increase in mobile telephone use has generated concern about possible health risks related to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from this technology. Methods: An interview-based case-control study with 2708 glioma and 2409 meningioma cases and matched controls was conducted in 13 countries using a common protocol. Results: A reduced odds ratio (OR) related to ever having been a regular mobile phone user was seen for glioma (OR 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.70, 0.94) and meningioma (OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.68, 0.91), possibly reflecting participation bias or other methodological limitations. No elevated OR was observed 10 or more years after first phone use (glioma: OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.76, 1.26; meningioma: OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.61, 1.14). Odds ratios were below 1.0 for all deciles of lifetime number of phone calls and nine deciles of cumulative call time. In the tenth decile of recalled cumulative call time, 1640 hours or longer, the odds ratio was 1.40 (95% CI 1.03, 1.89) for glioma, and 1.15 (95% CI 0.81, 1.62) for meningioma; but there are implausible values of reported use in this group. Odds ratios for glioma tended to be greater in the temporal lobe than in other lobes of the brain, but the confidence intervals around the lobe-specific estimates were wide. Odds ratios for glioma tended to be greater in subjects who reported usual phone use on the same side of the head as their tumour than on the opposite side. Conclusions: Overall, no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed with use of mobile phones. There were suggestions of an increased risk of glioma at the highest exposure levels, but biases and error prevent a causal interpretation. The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation.