There is no link between mobile phone use and an increased risk of brain cancer, according to a new review of available published evidence from around the world commissioned by the World Health Organization.
Despite the huge increase in the use of wireless technology, there has been no corresponding rise in the incidence of brain cancers, according to the study published Tuesday. This applies even to people who make long phone calls or who have used mobile phones for more than a decade.
The final analysis included 63 studies from 1994 to 2022, assessed by 11 researchers from 10 countries, including the Australian government’s Radiation Protection Authority.
The study assessed the effects of radiofrequency radiation, which is used in mobile phones, televisions, baby monitors and radar, said co-author Mark Elwood, a professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
“None of the main issues studied showed an increased risk,” he said. The review looked at brain cancers in adults and children, as well as cancer of the pituitary gland, salivary glands and leukaemia, and risks related to the use of mobile phones, base stations or transmitters, as well as occupational exposure. Other types of cancer will be reported separately.
The review follows other similar work. The WHO and other international health bodies have previously said there is no definitive evidence of adverse health effects from the radiation used by mobile phones, but have called for further research. Currently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies it as “possibly carcinogenic” or class 2B, a category used when the agency cannot rule out a possible link.
The agency’s advisory group has called for the classification to be re-evaluated as soon as possible, given new data since its last assessment in 2011.
The WHO assessment will be published in the first quarter of next year.
First published: September 3, 2024 | 22:04 IS
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