IARC Committee Says Cellphones May Cause Brain Cancer
Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields like those from cellphones may cause cancer in humans, including glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, said a new report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization. The last major report on cellphones and cancer, the long-awaited Interphone study, produced no conclusive results (CD March 18/10 p1).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
A working group meeting in Lyon, France, examined hundreds of studies before issuing the warning, which will now be further evaluated by WHO. Among them was the Interphone study. Cellphones were classified by the scientists as Group 2B agents, meaning they are “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” the third strongest classification, below Group 1 agents, known to cause cancer and Group 2A agency, considered “probably carcinogenic to humans."
The scientists concluded “there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk,” said Jonathan Samet of the University of Southern California, working group chairman.
"Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings, it is important that additional research be conducted into the long term, heavy use of mobile phones,” said IARC Director Christopher Wild. “Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands-free devices or texting.” The report is to be published in the journal The Lancet Oncology in its July 1 issue, and will be released online “in a few days,” IARC said.
The public should not be unduly concerned, said CTIA spokesman John Walls, saying the group did not conduct any new research. “IARC conducts numerous reviews and in the past has given the same score to, for example, pickled vegetables and coffee,” Walls said. “This IARC classification does not mean cellphones cause cancer. Under IARC rules, limited evidence from statistical studies can be found even though bias and other data flaws may be the basis for the results.”
The Interphone study, conducted over a 10-year period by the IARC, involved 12,848 participants, 5,150 with meningioma or glioma tumors, possibly linked to cellphone use. “An increased risk of brain cancer is not established from the data from Interphone,” IARC’s Wild said, summarizing those results last year.