No link between cellphone use, brain cancer—study

AFP

There is no link between cellphone use and an increased risk for brain and head cancers, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO)-commissioned review of thousands of available published evidence worldwide.

Led by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa), the systematic review examined more than 5,000 studies from 1994 to 2022, making it “the most comprehensive review to date,” lead author Ken Karipidis said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The findings of this systematic review align with previous research conducted by Arpansa showing that, although the use of wireless technology has massively increased in the last 20 years, there has been no rise in the incidence of brain cancers,” explained Karipidis, Arpansa’s assistant director of health impact assessment.

The final analysis included 63 studies that were assessed by 11 investigators from 10 countries, including the Australian government’s radiation protection authority.

The review was published in the Environment International journal on Aug. 30.

It assessed the evidence from human observational studies for the link between exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), and the risk of the most investigated types of cancer: brain tumors (glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma), pituitary tumors, salivary gland tumors in adults, and brain tumors among children.

Also called radio waves, RF-EMF are emitted from an antenna to a receiver and used to transfer information quickly over great distances.

Mobile phones — including other devices that use wireless technology such as laptops, radio and TV transmission towers, and cell sites — emit RF-EMF.

Brain and head cancers have been a concern among health authorities since cellphones are used over long periods of time and close to the head. Studies showed that ionizing radiation — which is emitted by x-rays and CT scanners — has been found to cause some brain cancers.

But radio waves emitted by cellphones are nonionizing, which means their energy is too low to damage the human DNA, and thus, could not cause changes to genes that may increase the risk of cancer.

No overall association

Overall, the review found no overall association between cellphone use and cancers. It also did not find any link with prolonged use of cell phones at 10 years or more, nor with the amount of time spent on mobile phones.

“For RF-EMF exposure to the head from mobile phone use, there was moderate certainty evidence that it likely does not increase the risk” of head and brain cancers for both adults and children, the study noted.

The WHO – International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) currently classifies RF-EMF as “possibly carcinogenic,” or belonging to Group 2B, a category used when the agency cannot rule out a potential link.

RF-EMF, along with 321 other agents, including aloe vera leaf extract, belong to this category.

Limited evidence

“When the IARC classified radio wave exposure as a possible carcinogen to humans in 2013, it was largely based on limited evidence from human observational studies,” Karipidis said.

“This systematic review of human observational studies is based on a much larger dataset compared to that examined by the IARC, that also includes more recent and more comprehensive studies, so we can be more confident that exposure to radio waves from wireless technology is not a human health hazard,” he added.

The IARC’s advisory group has called for the classification to be re-evaluated as soon as possible given the new data since its last assessment in 2011.