Cell Phone Radiation and Brain Cancer
Cell phone radiation is linked – in multiple research studies – to brain cancer as well as acoustic neuroma, a tumor of the nerve sheath in the ear. People with long term cell phone use to one side of the head are more at risk.
A Yale study funded by the American Cancer Society found an association between thyroid cancer and cell phone use in people with certain genetic susceptibilities.
Several scientists conclude that there is now sufficient evidence for the International Agency for Research on Cancer to categorize radiofrequency radiation as a Group 1 human carcinogen.
Dr. Hardell’s research group showed that adults who started using cell or cordless phones as teenagers had an 8-fold higher risk of brain cancer on the side of their head where they held the phone. A French study also found increased brain cancer in long term cell phone users. To date, the only published study of children’s risk of brain cancer from cell phone use found more than a 2-fold risk after >2.8 years of use (from billing records), combined with a statistically significant trend of increasing risk with increasing years of use.
Hardell and Carlberg published an expert commentary on the US National Toxicology Program study on rats and mice. They conclude “that there is clear evidence that RF radiation is a human carcinogen, causing glioma and vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma).” The paper additionally considers other cancer endpoints. For example, in regards to the rising increase in incidence of thyroid cancer, the authors state that “there is some evidence that thyroid cancer is caused by RF radiation in humans. The authors conclude that there is “clear evidence that RF radiation is a multi‑site carcinogen. Based on the Preamble to the IARC Monographs, RF radiation should be classified as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1.”
