No Brain Cancer Link to Cell Phone Use, Study Says

Fri, 21/05/2010 - 4:14pm — CellAdmin

The largest study to date on the hazards of cell phones has found no clear link to brain cancer, but scientists noted that more research was needed due to the increasing use of mobile devices within the last decade.

The report, which included almost 13,000 handset users in 13 countries over a 10-year period, found no increased risk of glioma or meningioma tumors from using a cell phone, but said that people who had never used a handset had a lower risk of brain cancer than those that did.

"The results really don't allow us to conclude that there is any risk associated with mobile phone use, but it is also premature to say that there is no risk associated with it," said Christopher Wild, the director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a unit of the World Health Organization.

Experts also said that the heaviest of users -- people who averaged half an hour a day over the span of 10 years -- had "suggestions of higher risk." Those who used their phones on the same side of their heads also saw a 40 percent higher risk for gliomas and 15 percent for meningiomas.

But researchers again said "biases and errors" prevented them from making any definitive link, calling the findings unreliable.

"We can't just conclude that there is no effect. There are indications of a possible increase," said Elisabeth Cardis, the lead researcher of the study and a scientist at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain. "We're not sure that it is correct. It could be due to bias, but the indications are sufficiently strong to be concerned."

Part of the issue with the study, Wild said, is that the amount of time people spend on their cell phone is significantly higher today than it was 10 years ago. When the study began in 2000, participants said they made calls an average of 2 to 2.5 hours a month.

"Today, mobile phone use has become much more prevalent and it is not unusual for young people to use mobile phones for an hour or more a day," the researchers said.

But the increasing use of handsets is tempered by generally lower emissions from the latest phones and the increased popularity of hands-free devices and texting that reduces exposure to the head, they said.

Thus far, several research studies have failed to establish any clear connection between handset usage and several kinds of cancers. Last year, Scandinavian scientists reported that cell phones were unlikely causes for brain tumors. Danish researchers concluded similar results four years ago.

But a few U.S. and British experts have suggested that several past studies, funded by handset makers, had a "systemic-skew" that greatly underestimated the likelihood of developing tumors.

This study, conducted by 21 scientists in the Interphone International Study Group, received $24.4 million in funding, over a quarter of which was from companies within the mobile phone industry.

In response, the U.S. Senate Health Committee spearheaded an investigation last year, fearing that the handset maker-sponsored studies may be similar to the cigarette-lung cancer link of the 1970s, where tobacco companies funded cases to deny the cause for decades.

Last month, European researchers launched an even larger study into the effects of phone use on long-term health, aiming to follow more than a quarter of a million of people for up to 30 years.

To find out how much radiation popular cell phones emit, including the safest and most dangerous models, visit our Cell Phone Radiation Guide.

Source: (www.mobiledia.com)