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Rising Thyroid Cancer and Smartphone RF Radiation: Evidence from Sweden and the UK

Research from Sweden has shown a clear and continuously rising incidence of thyroid cancer over the past five decades, correlating with increasing exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation from mobile phones.

Evidence from Sweden

A study by Lennart Hardell, Mona Nilsson, and Michael Carlberg, published in Fortune Journal of Health Sciences (2025), analysed thyroid cancer trends in Sweden from 1970 to 2022. Their findings are striking:

  • ◆ In women, the incidence increased with an average annual percentage change of +1.69% from 1970 to 2022, rising particularly sharply between 1999 and 2022 (+4.35% per year). Women aged 40–59 experienced the highest increase (+5.4% per year from 2001–2022).
  • Fig 2. Reproduced from Hardell L, Nilsson M, Carlberg M. The Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in Sweden Revisited. Fortune J Health Sci. 2025;8:716–722. DOI: 10.26502/fjhs.328
  • ◆ In men, the overall increase was +0.94% per year, with the highest rise in ages 40–59 (+4.42% per year from 2002–2022).
  • ◆ Conclusion from the study: “These results support a causation between radiofrequency radiation from the handheld mobile phone and thyroid cancer.” and “Thus, RF-exposure may be a causative factor behind the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer.”
  • The study notes that if early detection were the cause, we would expect the incidence to stabilise or decline after initial increases; this has not happened.

Reporting from the United States

An article by Professor James C. Lin, published in IEEE Microwave Magazine (2025), reviews the Swedish research and confirms its implications. Lin, a physicist from the University of Illinois Chicago and former ICNIRP Commission Member (2004–2016) and ICNIRP SCIII Chair (2008–2012), highlights that:

  • ◆ A recently updated study from Sweden suggests that exposure to microwave and RF radiation from cell- or smartphone use could be the cause of increased incidence of thyroid cancer.
  • ◆ Smartphone design contributes to thyroid exposure: the main communication antenna is located at the base, with other lower-power antennas such as GPS at the topside corner. When held against the ear, the main antenna is closer to the thyroid gland, resulting in higher RF exposure compared with other models. 
  • Fig 7. Reproduced from Hardell L, Nilsson M, Carlberg M. The Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in Sweden Revisited. Fortune J Health Sci. 2025;8:716–722. DOI: 10.26502/fjhs.328

  • ◆ Genetic susceptibility matters: pathways related to DNA repair are involved in the increased risk associated with cell phone exposure. This relationship holds regardless of tumour size or latency.
  • ◆ The report shows a continuously increasing incidence of thyroid cancer in Sweden, coinciding with a more than tenfold increase in mobile phone use between 2001 and 2024. Cell phone exposure has been regarded as a causative factor in the growing incidence of thyroid cancer, which matches the trend of greater RF exposure of the thyroid gland from smartphone use.

Lin JC. Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer and Use of Smart Phones. IEEE Microwave Magazine, 27(1), 14–16, January 2026. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11329092

UK Thyroid Cancer Trends

According to recent online searches and public health sources:

  • ◆ Annual cases: approximately 3,900–4,000 new diagnoses per year, around 11 per day.
  • ◆ Gender split: thyroid cancer is significantly more common in women (~2,900 cases/year) than men (~1,100 cases/year).
  • ◆ Age profile: highest rates occur in people aged 70–74, but more than 60% of cases in some regions, such as Northern Ireland, are diagnosed before age 55.
  • ◆ Lifetime risk: 1 in 200 for women, 1 in 340 for men.
  • ◆ Trends: incidence has nearly tripled since the early 1990s and has increased 62% since 2014, with projections suggesting a rise to 74% by 2035.

Expert Commentary

Mona Nilsson, co-founder and director of the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation and advisor to the EM Radiation Research Trust, said:

“The increasing incidence of thyroid cancer has coincided with increased use of smartphones that expose the thyroid and neck to more microwave RF radiation than older phones. The evidence is strong that this radiation can cause or promote cancer. The thyroid is sensitive to radiation, and the increasing trends observed not only in Sweden but elsewhere are a real concern. The public should be informed, as many scientists are very concerned about the increasing exposure to microwave RF radiation.”

Brian Stein CBE, Chairman of the EM Radiation Research Trust, commented:

“Although my children are not ES, they have clearly inherited my genes. In 2024, one had an operation to remove half of her thyroid and the other an operation to remove a third of her colon. People frequently carry their mobile phone in their back pocket and use it near the thyroid rather than the head. Both thyroid and colon cancer are on the increase in the UK in young people.”

WHO Classification and Animal Evidence

Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, the type of radiation emitted by Wi‑Fi, mobile phones, wireless routers, and other wireless technologies, are officially classified by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) in 2011. Many experts now advocate upgrading this to Group 1.

Recent large-scale studies strengthen concerns about long-term EMF exposure:

  • ◆ NTP (National Toxicology Program, USA): Chronic RF exposure increased malignant schwannomas in the hearts of male rats and other tumour types.
  • ◆ Ramazzini Institute (Italy): Lifelong exposure to low-level RF EMFs caused significant increases in cardiac schwannomas and glial tumours in rats, corroborating NTP findings.
  • ◆ Animal and mechanistic studies: Multiple publications report DNA damage, oxidative stress, and tumour-promoting effects from chronic EMF exposure, highlighting the need for precautionary measures, especially for children.

References and Further Reading

Key EMF Research Resources for Further Review:

  • ◆ Powerwatch: Over 1,600 studies on ELF and EMFs – powerwatch.org.uk
  • ◆ BioInitiative Report: Over 4,000 studies compiled – bioinitiative.org
  • ◆ EMF‑Portal: 48,631 publications and 7,012 study summaries – emf-portal.org
  • ◆ Safer EMR: More than 2,500 abstracts with links to papers – saferemr.com

ICNIRP, a private organisation whose guidelines on non‑ionising radiation are adopted by some governments including the UK, sets exposure limits designed only to prevent short term heating effects such as shocks or burns. These limits do not account for the growing body of evidence showing biological effects at lower levels. It is like setting a speed limit at 1,000 miles per hour and then claiming there is no speeding. The evidence is clear: our bodies, particularly sensitive organs like the thyroid, are being exposed to levels of radiation that these guidelines do not protect against.

For a full overview of the science and the global implications, see Global Alert: A Planetary Threat Hidden in Plain Sight (Free full download at: https://radiationresearch.org/global-alert-a-planetary-threat-hidden-in-plain-sight/

Smartphones and the Thyroid: Hidden Radiation Risks