Cochlear implants in the etiopathogenesis of glioblastoma--an interesting observation or independent finding?

Abstract

Various risk factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of glioblastomas including ionizing radiation. Recent evidence has suggested a possible association between exposure to nonionizing radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated from mobile phones and wireless devices to cause malignant transformation of the neuroglial cells, albeit this is widely debated. In this report, we discuss the development of glioblastoma in two geopolitically unrelated patients, an elderly male from the United States and a middle-aged woman from Sweden, with long-standing cochlear implants (CI). We hypothesize that the low-frequency RF-EMF emanating from the transcutaneous link of the CI prosthesis over a long period has potentially triggered tumor development in these patients.