Is Cell Phone Use Safe? Study Finds No Link With Brain Tumor Risk

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According to a recent research from the United Kingdom, there is no relationship involving brain cancers and mobile phone usage, even among those who use their cellphones day after day and/or have used them for more than ten years.

Nevertheless, the research had many limitations, one of which is that it only included females who were middle-aged or above; these individuals, according to the authors, tend to use mobile phones less often than younger women or males. Only 18 percent of participants in this research spoke on the telephone for half an hour or more per week, according to the researchers, indicating that mobile phone usage was low in this group.

Although additional investigation is always needed, particularly as mobile devices, wireless networks, and more become commonplace, this study should alleviate many current worries. Fears regarding cancer risk, especially brain cancers, have been prevalent for years, and there have been around 30 epidemiologic papers conducted on this topic so far.

When the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stated in 2011 that mobile phones are “potentially carcinogenic,” it was a huge deal. On the basis of the big INTERPHONE international case-control research, the hypothesis was reached in significant part.

To put it another way, a possible reason for the prior good findings is that for a relatively slow-growing cancer, there may be identification bias if mobile phone users request medical attention because they are cognizant of common signs such as unilateral auditory issues for acoustic neuroma sooner versus non-users.

They find that there is no proof that mobile phone users are more likely to present a brain tumor because of their use of the devices, based on empirical studies, temporal patterns, and biological tests. Nonetheless, given the paucity of data for frequent users, encouraging the usage of mobile phones to limit needless exposures continues to be a prudent preventative measure.

The findings were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

William Reid
A science writer through and through, William Reid’s first starting working on offline local newspapers. An obsessive fascination with all things science/health blossomed from a hobby into a career. Before hopping over to Optic Flux, William worked as a freelancer for many online tech publications including ScienceWorld, JoyStiq and Digg. William serves as our lead science and health reporter.