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Health Tip:
Does cell phone use increase the risk of brain cancer?
Results of the INTERPHONE Study
For a number
of years, there has been a suspected link between exposure to radiofrequency (RF)
electromagnetic fields from mobile phones and the development of brain cancer.
In order to investigate this connection, an international research project known
as INTERPHONE was initiated. INTERPHONE is the largest study to date to test the
hypothesis that cell phones usage could contribute to the development of two different
brain tumors, glioma and meningioma.
 INTERPHONE
was designed as a case-control study, also known as a retrospective study. This
is a type of study that compares people with a disease or condition under study
(cases) and a very similar group of people who do not have the disease or condition
(controls). Researchers study the medical and lifestyle histories of the people
in each group to learn what factors may be associated with the disease or condition.
A case-control study design was used to demonstrate the link between tobacco smoking
and the development of lung cancer.
INTERPHONE involved 2708 glioma and 2409 meningioma cases, along with matched controls.
Data was gathered from interviews with tumor patients and their controls. It included
substantial numbers of subjects who had used mobile phones for >= 10 years. The study
was conducted in 13 countries but did not include subjects from the United States.
Results of the INTERPHONE Study. The primary conclusion of the
study was that overall, no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed
with use of mobile phones. When breaking down the data and comparing tumor risk
with other factors, such as the amount of cell phone usage, there were some interesting
findings:
- People in the low cell phone
use category were found to have a lower risk for glioma and meningioma than for
non-cell phone users. In other words, for this group of subjects, cell phone use
appeared to offer a protective effect against developing cancer.
 For cell phone users at
the highest level of cumulative use (up to half an hour a day over a 10 - year period),
there was a significantly higher risk of developing a glioma and to a lesser degree
meningioma.
- In the higher use group,
an association was noted with tumors occurring on the same side of the head as the
user typically held his or her phone.
Comments regarding the
study's findings. The association between brain cancer and cell phone use
among the heaviest users is consistent with other studies, and is perhaps the most
important bit of information gleaned from the INTERPHONE study. Unfortunately, the
INTERPHONE study failed to completely resolve the question of whether use of cell
phones is linked to brain cancer. Even the authors admitted that biases and errors
may have affected the study. A few of the more obvious flaws include the omission
of subjects under the age of 30, in whom cell phone use is particularly high, and
not considering exposure from cordless phone use which also emits RF radiation.
The apparent "protective effect" of cell phone use was almost certainly due to some
methodological error in conducting the study.
Clearly, further investigation into the connection between RF radiation and brain
cancer is needed. Until we have more definite answers regarding this connection
there are a few measures that you can take to reduce exposure to RF radiation. First
of all, do you really need to talk for as long or as often as you are currently?
Reducing the amount of time talking on a cell phone is an obvious way to reduce
exposure. Next, in order to keep the cell phone away from your head, consider the
use of an ear piece, Bluetooth device, or the built in speaker phone. Texting, rather
than talking on the telephone, is another way to avoid radiation exposure. Lastly,
whenever possible use a conventional telephone with a "land line" instead of your
cell phone.
If you have questions regarding exposure to RF radiation
please sign into your account and send us your questions. |
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