Re: No link between mobile phones and tumours - study

[John Moulder <jmoulder@MCW.EDU>]

>SYDNEY, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A three-year study has found that radio 

>emissions from

>mobile phones do not trigger the growth of tumours in mice and 

>therefore probably do

>not do so in humans either, Australian researchers said on Friday.



The part of the story dealing with the mouse lymphoma study is 

reasonably accurate.



[TD Utteridge, V Gebski et al: Long-term exposure of Eľ-Pim1 

transgenic mice to 898.4 MHz microwaves does not increase lymphoma 

incidence. Radiat Res 158:357-364, 2002.]



>Swedish research published last week concluded that long-term users 

>of first generation

>mobile phones faced an up to 80 percent greater risk of developing 

>brain tumours than

>non-users...



the above is misleading.  The Swedish report found no increase in 

brain cancer (that is, malignant brain tumors).   The study included 

both benign and malignant brain tumors, and both mobile phones and 

cordless phones.  The incidence of malignant brain tumors was 

non-significantly elevated in users of both analog mobile phones, 

digital mobile phones and cordless phones. The incidence of benign 

brain tumors was elevated in users of analog phones and slightly 

decreased in users of digital mobile phones and cordless phones. The 

analysis of the data is highly complex with the data subdivided by 

type of phone (450 MHz analog vs 900 MHz analog vs digital vs 

cordless), by hours of use, by years of use, by tumor types and by 

tumor location; in total over 200 relative risk calculations are 

made.  The incidence of malignant temporal lobe tumors were slightly 

decreased in users of both analog and mobile phones. The excess brain 

cancer found in the total study appears to be largely (perhaps 

entirely) due to an excess of acoustic neuromas (a benign nerve 

tumor) in users of analog phones -- and the increase may be a 

multiple comparison artifact.



[L Hardell, A Hallquist et al: Cellular and cordless telephones and 

the risk for brain tumors. Eur J Cancer Prev 11:377-386, 2002.]



-- 



John Moulder (jmoulder@mcw.edu)

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