100U.S. FDA
How much evidence is there that hand-ty of mobile phones. This research
held mobile phones might be harmful?has resulted in two findings in partic-
Briefly, there is not enough evidence ular that merit additional study:
to know for sure, either way; howev-1. In a hospital-based, case-control
er, research efforts are on-going. study, researchers looked for an as-
The existing scientific evidence is sociation between mobile phone use
conflicting and many of the studies and either glioma (a type of brain
that have been done to date have cancer) or acoustic neuroma (a be-
suffered from flaws in their research nign tumor of the nerve sheath). No
methods. Animal experiments inves-statistically significant association
tigating the effects of RF exposures was found between mobile phone
characteristic of mobile phones have use and acoustic neuroma. There
yielded conflicting results. A few ani-was also no association between
mal studies, however, have suggest-mobile phone use and gliomas when
ed that low levels of RF could accel-all types of gliomas were considered
erate the development of cancer in together. It should be noted that the
laboratory animals. In one study, average length of mobile phone ex-
mice genetically altered to be predis-posure in this study was less than
posed to developing one type of can-three years.
cer developed more than twice as
many such cancers when they were When 20 types of glioma were con-
sidered separately, however, an as-
exposed to RF energy compared to sociation was found between mobile
controls. There is much uncertainty
among scientists about whether re-phone use and one rare type of glio-
sults obtained from animal studies ma, neuroepithelliomatous tumors.
It is possible with multiple compari-
apply to the use of mobile phones. sons of the same sample that this as-
First, it is uncertain how to apply the
results obtained in rats and mice to sociation occurred by chance. More-
humans. Second, many of the stud-over, the risk did not increase with
how often the mobile phone was
ies showed increased tumor devel-used, or the length of the calls. In
opment used animals that had al-
ready been treated with cancer-fact, the risk actually decreased with
causing chemicals, and other studies cumulative hours of mobile phone
use. Most cancer causing agents in-
exposed the animals to the RF virtu-crease risk with increased exposure.
ally continuously ? up to 22 hours
per day.An ongoing study of brain cancers by
the National Cancer Institute is ex-
For the past five years in the United pected to bear on the accuracy and
States, the mobile phone industry repeatability of these results.1
has supported research into the safe- |
ACEC
