Tumor study on cell phones proves inconclusive
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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EXPERTS who studied almost 13,000 cell-phone users over 10 years, hoping to find out whether the mobile devices cause brain tumors, said yesterday their research gave no clear answer.
A study by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, the largest so far to look at possible links between mobile phones and brain cancer, threw up inconclusive results but researchers said suggestions of a link demanded deeper examination.
"The results really don't allow us to conclude that there is any risk associated with mobile-phone use, but it is also premature to saythat there is no risk associatedwith it," said IARC Director Christopher Wild.
The results of the study have been keenly awaited by mobile-phone companies and groups who have raised concerns about whether cell phones cause brain tumors.
Wild said part of the problem with this study, which was launched in 2000, was that rates of mobile-phone usage in the period it covered were relatively low compared with today when they have become part of life.
It was also based on people searching their memories to estimate how much time they spent on their cell phones, a method that can throw up inaccuracies.
European scientists last month launched what will now become the biggest study into the effects of mobile-phone use on long-term health. It aims to track at least 250,000 people in five European countries for up to 30 years.
This study is considered more accurate because it does not require people to remember their cell-phone use later but tracks it in real time.
Data from the IARC study showed that overall, mobile-phone users in fact had a lower risk of brain cancer than people who had never used one, but the 21 scientists who conducted the study said this finding suggested problems with the method, or inaccurate data from respondents. Other results showed high cumulative call time may slightly raise the risk, but again the finding was not reliable.
"We can't just conclude that there is no effect," said Elisabeth Cardis of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain, who led the study. "There are indications of a possible increase.
"We're not sure that it is correct. It could be due to bias, but the indications are sufficiently strong to be concerned."
Because of this, and because cell- phone use is rising, more research was needed, the scientists said.
The study was partially sponsored by mobile-phone firms.
A study by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, the largest so far to look at possible links between mobile phones and brain cancer, threw up inconclusive results but researchers said suggestions of a link demanded deeper examination.
"The results really don't allow us to conclude that there is any risk associated with mobile-phone use, but it is also premature to saythat there is no risk associatedwith it," said IARC Director Christopher Wild.
The results of the study have been keenly awaited by mobile-phone companies and groups who have raised concerns about whether cell phones cause brain tumors.
Wild said part of the problem with this study, which was launched in 2000, was that rates of mobile-phone usage in the period it covered were relatively low compared with today when they have become part of life.
It was also based on people searching their memories to estimate how much time they spent on their cell phones, a method that can throw up inaccuracies.
European scientists last month launched what will now become the biggest study into the effects of mobile-phone use on long-term health. It aims to track at least 250,000 people in five European countries for up to 30 years.
This study is considered more accurate because it does not require people to remember their cell-phone use later but tracks it in real time.
Data from the IARC study showed that overall, mobile-phone users in fact had a lower risk of brain cancer than people who had never used one, but the 21 scientists who conducted the study said this finding suggested problems with the method, or inaccurate data from respondents. Other results showed high cumulative call time may slightly raise the risk, but again the finding was not reliable.
"We can't just conclude that there is no effect," said Elisabeth Cardis of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain, who led the study. "There are indications of a possible increase.
"We're not sure that it is correct. It could be due to bias, but the indications are sufficiently strong to be concerned."
Because of this, and because cell- phone use is rising, more research was needed, the scientists said.
The study was partially sponsored by mobile-phone firms.
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