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Cell Phones and Brain Cancer -- JuryStill Out

Roxanne Nelson(Roxanne Nelson is a staff journalist for Medscape Oncology)Authors and DisclosuresOctober 14, 2009 — Cellular telephones have become an integral part of everyday life;they are now used by an estimated 4 billion people worldwide. But this is a relativelynew technology, and there are lingering concerns about health risks, in particular a risk for brain cancer.A new report suggests that that regular use of cell phones can result in a "significant" risk for brain tumors. But previous studies have been inconsistent. Even so, some Europeancountries have taken precautionary measures, aimed specifically at children.In the United States, a recent Senate hearing examining the safety of cell phones wasinconclusive, saying that although more research is needed, it might be wise to begintaking precautionary measures right now. The National Cancer Institute also said thatadditional research is needed.In this special feature,

Medscape Oncology

presents the views of experts from both sidesof the case.The new report, "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern. Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone," was released in August by the InternationalElectromagnetic Field (EMF) Collaborative, a group that includes Powerwatch and theRadiation Research Trust in the United Kingdom, and the EMR Policy Institute,ElectromagneticHealth.org, and The Peoples Initiative Foundation in the United States.More than 40 scientists and officials from 14 countries endorsed the report, whichconcluded that:

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Studies that are independent of the telecom industry consistently show there is a"significant" risk for brain tumors from cell phone use.

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The EMF exposure limits advocated by industry and used by governments are based on a false premise that a cell phone's electromagnetic radiation has no biological effects except for heating.

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The danger of brain tumors from cell phone use is highest in children, and theyounger a child is when he/she starts using a cell phone, the higher the risk.

"We have had zero reaction from the industry about the paper," Lloyd Morgan, a retiredelectronics engineer, an active member of several international science organizations, andthe report's lead author, told

Medscape Oncology

. "What they're doing is a nonresponseresponse; they haven't challenged anything in it."This report has intensified a controversy that has been brewing for nearly 2 decades andstill remains largely unresolved. Approximately 30 epidemiologic studies have attemptedto evaluate a possible association between cell phone use and the risk for brain andsalivary gland tumors. There have also been a number of experimental studies involvingcell cultures and animal models.Results, however, have been inconclusive or even contradictory. But studies independentof industry funding have more consistently found higher risks for brain tumors whenexposure was 10 or more years, explained Mr. Morgan, adding that "even some industry-funded studies show that there is a connection between cell phone use and the risk of brain tumors."

Interphone Results Flawed

The issue of cell phone safety was to have been settled once and for all by the huge 13-nation industry-funded Interphone study, which was begun nearly 10 years ago. Eventhough data collection was completed in 2004, the results have still not been published.The European Parliament has called the delay "deplorable," and has demanded anexplanation for it. Although the combined results have not yet been released, 14Interphone studies (11 single country and 3 multicountry studies) with partial results have been published."Results of Interphone have been delayed by about 4 years," said Elizabeth Barris,founder of the nonprofit People's Initiative Foundation and coauthor of the new report, inan interview. "It was supposed to be released this September. We wanted to make surethat our report was released before Interphone. We wanted to bring attention to the issue,including the fact that Interphone has been delayed for so long."With only 4 exceptions, the industry-funded Interphone studies found no increased risk for brain tumors from cell phone use, explained Mr. Morgan. In contrast, a series of Swedish studies, led by Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, from the Department of Oncology,Orebro Medical Center, in Sweden, which were independent of industry funding,reported numerous findings of significantly increased brain tumor risk from cell phoneand cordless phone use.

As you review these studies, you begin to get strong evidence of extremelyimprobable results.

An analysis of the results from the Interphone studies suggests that the use of a cell phoneactually protects the user from a brain tumor, or that the studies had serious design flaws."In any one study, you can see this incredibly skewing toward protection," said Mr.

Morgan. "As you review these studies, you begin to get strong evidence of extremelyimprobable results."In fact, Mr. Morgan and his coauthors identified 11 flaws in the Interphone studies:selection bias, insufficient latency time, definition of "regular" cell phone use, exclusionof young adults and children, no investigation of brain tumor risk from cell phonesradiating higher power levels in rural areas, exclusion of exposure to other transmittingsources, exclusion of some brain tumor types, exclusion of tumors outside the cell phoneradiation plume, exclusion of brain tumor cases because of death or illness, recallaccuracy of cell phone use, and funding bias."Almost all flaws caused an underestimation of risk," he said, "and for exposure under 10years, they found protection for cell phones."The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), the wireless association'sindustry trade group, has not specifically responded to the new report, according to Mr.Morgan. However, John Walls, vice president of public affairs at CTIA, told

MedscapeOncology

that "since we are not a scientific organization, with respect to the matter of health effects associated with wireless base stations and the use of wireless devices,CTIA and the wireless industry have always been guided by science and the views of impartial health organizations."Peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices donot pose a public health risk, Mr. Walls said. "In addition, there is no known mechanismfor microwave energy within the limits established by the [Federal CommunicationsCommission]

to cause any adverse health effects," he said. "That is why the leadingglobal heath organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the World Health Organization, and the US Food and Drug Administration, allhave concurred that wireless devices are not a public health risk."

Initial Red Flags

In the United States, the possible connection between tumors and cell phone use becamehighly publicized in 1993, when Florida resident David Reynard appeared on the popular television show

Larry King Live

and blamed cell phones for causing his wife's lethal brain tumor. Mr. Reynard filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer; he ultimately lost thecase, but dozens of other lawsuits followed in its wake, along with numerous scientificstudies that attempted to find or disprove a link. Most of the lawsuits have beendismissed, and thus far, none have gone to trial.But the subject was picked up by the media, and scientists and experts argued publicly onopposing sides of the issue. Reports in the popular media prompted Congressionalhearings on the safety of cell phone use, and during those sessions, it became clear thatcell phones had not been tested for "safety prior to going into commerce," said GeorgeCarlo, PhD, MS, JD, during a 2008 radio interview with CFRO, a co-op radio station