L’use of mobile phones does not appear to increase the risk of cancer of the brain, according to a comprehensive study commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Cell phones emit non-ionizing radiation at frequencies and energy levels low enough that they do not damage DNA, unlike the ionizing radiation found in medical X-rays or from the sun.
Despite the growing popularity of cell phones and other wireless technologies that use similar radio frequencies – including radio, television and baby monitors – the incidence of three types of brain cancerleukemia, pituitary or salivary gland cancers have not increased in the same way, according to the meta-analysis, which covers 63 studies published over the last twenty years and which was published in the journal Environmental International.
“Regarding the main question, cell phones and brain cancer, we found no increased risk, even with exposure of more than 10 years and the maximum categories of call time or number of calls.“, declares Mark Elwoodco-author of the study and honorary professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, in a statement.
These new findings follow another major study that found that people who use their cell phones frequently do not have a higher risk of brain cancer than people who rarely use them.
This analysis followed approximately 250,000 people for a median duration of seven years in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland.
Taken together, the results give scientific weight to the idea that, for the vast majority of people, phones do not contribute to brain cancer risk.
“This really consolidates what we’ve been seeing,” he told Euronews Health Aslak Harbo Poulsensenior researcher at the Danish Cancer Institute.
No correlation between cell phones and tumors
Research he conducted in Denmark, involving about 358,000 cell phone subscribers, was included in the meta-analysis, but he was not involved in the new study.
“There does not appear to be a strong correlation between cell phone use and the risk of these tumors in the general population. ” he said.
The main open question, according to Harbo Poulsen, is whether there could be an impact on a fraction of people, for example very intensive or long-term users of mobile phones, but this would remain “extremely rare“.
There does not appear to be a strong correlation between cell phone use and the risk of these tumors in the general population.
The WHO warned in 2011 that mobile phones were “possibly carcinogenic to humans“, and its research department has since conducted large-scale studies of potential links.
Harbo Poulsen said that in research into potential health risks from phones, it is generally unclear whether the associations are due to radiation, exposure to light at night or something else.
What about 5G?
Notably, the new study’s cutoff point was set for 2022, when 5G networks – which operate at a higher frequency spectrum than older generations – were still relatively new.
However, they are still considered non-ionizing, and the study authors said people should not be concerned.
“There are no major studies on 5G networks yet, but there are studies on radars, which have similar high frequencies. These studies do not show an increased risk. ” said Mark Elwood.
