Mobile phone and cancer Part II: Those who say “Yes”

Last week, I presented one side of the phone-cancer issue, basically the side that says “No, mobile phone use does not cause cancer.” This week, I am presenting the other side of the coin. But remember, this is not about taking sides. It’s about presenting the whole picture.

Because of the involvement of industry groups in funding the INTERPHONE studies, it is not surprising that many are sceptical of the results that those studies reported. Some independent research studies have also been conducted to investigate the link between RF radiaton – cancer which reported otherwise.

What the research studies say

• The BioInitiative Working Group is an international working group consisting of scientists and health experts who looked at the published and unpublished evidence on the health effects of ELF. The group came up with the BioInitiative Report that “raises serious concerns about the safety of existing public limits that regulate how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cell phones, and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life.” The group reported that there is enough evidence showing that ELF can increase the risk for breast cancer, childhood leukaemia, and possibly other cancers. However, the group’s study looked mainly at ELF, the radiation emitted by power lines, but not specifically on RF radiation emitted by mobile phones.
• A group of Swedish researchers led by Lennart Hardell of the Örebro University looked at the INTERPHONE data and came up with a different conclusion compared to their colleagues. They found an increased risk for brain tumors among 2,162 users of cordless handsets and cellular phones.
• Another group of Swedish researchers found an association between acoustic neuroma and long-term mobile phone use (10 years or more) but not on the short-term (less than 10 years).
• In 2008, Israeli researchers found a “positive dose-response trend” between cell phone use and tumors in the parotid gland in a study of 1,266 participants.
• A 2008 study by Finnish researchers was the first to report that RF radiation can cause changes at the molecular level by altering protein expression in human skin cells.

What some health experts say

• The International Agency for Cancer Research classifies ELF as a possible human carcinogen.
• In July 2008, Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a memo warning the institute’s employees against the use of mobile phone, especially among children. His concerns was based on early unpublished data and the fact that “it takes too long to get answers from science…[people] should take action now – especially when it comes to children.
• The Australian neurosurgeon Dr. Charlie Tia specialized in pediatric neurosurgery states that “apendamoma’s seem to be increasing in incidence in children…I think the EMR, mobile phones, and other electrical appliances may have something to do with what we are seeing.”
• The complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) guru Dr. Ed Mercola is a strong believer of the adverse health effects of mobile telephony and recently warned against the popular use of mobile phones, particularly the iphone. For this reason, he is manufacturing his own “blue tube headset” that supposedly minimizes the user’s exposure to RF radiation through “its air-filled wireless tube that reduces the emission of radiation.”
• The group at www.cell-phone-dangers.com features doctors and health experts who speak out about their concerns on mobile phone use.

Coming up next in this series:

• Why is a clear cut answer to the mobile phone – cancer question hard to find?
• What are the other health effects of mobile telephony?
• How to use your phone properly to minimize radiation exposure

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