NCI began a comprehensive study of possible environmental and genetic causes of malignant and benign brain tumors in 1994. The findings were published in 2001 (http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/cellphassoc) and were part of a comprehensive study to address a variety of possible risk factors for brain tumors. The study included 782 brain tumor cases and 799 controls from three medical institutions: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh. The study included brain tumor patients diagnosed with glioma (489 cases), meningioma (197 cases), or acoustic neuroma (96 cases). The control subjects were people who were admitted for a variety of non-cancerous conditions to the same hospitals as the brain tumor patients. The control subjects were matched with the case subjects by hospital, sex, race, age, and distance of residence from the hospital. The study was restricted to adults who were 18 or older who received care at one of the participating hospitals, resided within 50 miles of the hospital, and could understand English or Spanish. Data collection began in 1994 and was completed in 1998.
The study found no indication of higher brain tumor risk among persons who had used hand-held cell phones compared with those who had not used them. More importantly, there was no evidence of increasing risk with increasing years of use or average minutes of use per day, nor did brain tumors among cell phone users tend to occur more often than expected on the side of the head on which the person reported using their phone. Specifically, there was no indication of increased risk associated with use of a cell phone for 1 hour or more per day, for 5 or more years, or for cumulative use of more than 100 hours. These findings pertain to all three tumor types considered (glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma).
The results of this study pertain primarily to patterns of cell phone use in the United States during the early to mid-1990s. During the period of this study, there was no evidence that use of hand-held cell phones caused tumors of the brain and central nervous system. The findings suggest that, if there was any increase in risk, it was small, particularly for malignant tumors (glioma).
What studies are being done to help understand whether there is a biologic basis for cell phone radiation exposure to cause cancer?
Another part of the NIH, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), is carrying out a study of risks related to exposure to RF radiation (the type used in cell phones) in highly specialized labs that can specify and control sources of radiation and measure their effects on rodents. Source: National Cancer Institute
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