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PRESSRELEASE
N°20831
May
2011
IARCCLASSIFIESRADIOFREQUENCYELECTROMAGNETICFIELDSASPOSSIBLYCARCINOGENICTOHUMANS
Lyon,France,May31,2011--TheWHO/InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer(IARC)hasclassifiedradiofrequencyelectromagneticfieldsaspossiblycarcinogenictohumans(Group2B),basedonanincreasedriskforglioma.amalignanttypeofbraincancer",associatedwithwirelessphoneuse.BackgroundOverthelastfewyears,therehasbeenmountingconcernaboutthepossibilityofadversehealtheffectsresultingfromexposuretoradiofrequencyelectromagneticfields,suchasthoseemittedbywirelesscommunicationdevices.Thenumberofmobilephonesubscriptionsisestimatedat5billionglobally.FromMay24-312011.aWorkingGroupof31scientistsfrom14countrieshasbeenmeetingatIARCinLyon.France.toassessthepotentialcarcinogenichazardsfromexposuretoradiofrequencyelectromagneticfields.TheseassessmentswillbepublishedasVolume102oftheIARC
Monographs,
whichwillbethefifthvolumeinthisseriestofocusonphysicalagents,afterVolume55(SolarRadiation),Volume75andVolume78onionizingradiation(X-rays,gamma-rays,neutrons,radio-nuclides),andVolume80onnon-ionizingradiation(extremelylow-frequencyelectromagneticfields).TheIARCMonographWorkingGroupdiscussedthepossibilitythattheseexposuresmightinducelong-termhealtheffects,inparticularanincreasedriskforcancer.Thishasrelevanceforpublichealth,particularlyforusersofmobilephones,asthenumberofusersislargeandgrowing,particularlyamongyoungadultsandchildren.TheIARCMonographWorkingGroupdiscussedandevaluatedtheavailableliteratureonthefollowingexposurecategoriesinvolvingradiofrequencyelectromagneticfields:~occupationalexposurestoradarandtomicrowaves;~environmentalexposuresassociatedwithtransmissionofsignalsforradio,televisionandwirelesstelecommunication;and~personalexposuresassociatedwiththeuseofwirelesstelephones.Internationalexpertssharedthecomplextaskoftacklingtheexposuredata,thestudiesofcancerinhumans,thestudiesofcancerinexperimentalanimals,andthemechanisticandotherrelevantdata.
1
237913newcasesofbraincancers(alltypescombined)occurredaroundtheworldin2008(gliomasrepresent2/3ofthese).Source:Globocan
2008
Page2
IARCCLASSIFIESRADIOFREQUENCYELECTROMAGNETICFIELDSASPOSSIBLYCARCINOGENICTOHUMANS
ResultsTheevidencewasreviewedcritically,andoverallevaluatedasbeing
llmited'
amongusersofwirelesstelephonesforgliomaandacousticneuroma,and
tnoaeauate'
todrawconclusionsforothertypesofcancers.Theevidencefromtheoccupationalandenvironmentalexposuresmentionedabovewassimilarlyjudgedinadequate.TheWorkingGroupdidnotquantitatetherisk;however,onestudyofpastcellphoneuse(uptotheyear2004),showeda40%increasedriskforgliomasinthehighestcategoryofheavyusers(reportedaverage:30minutesperdayovera10-yearperiod).ConclusionsDrJonathanSamet(UniversityofSouthernCalifornia,USA),overallChairmanoftheWorkingGroup,indicatedthat"theevidence,whilestillaccumulating,isstrongenoughtosupportaconclusionandthe28classification.Theconclusionmeansthattherecouldbesomerisk,andthereforeweneedtokeepaclosewatchforalinkbetweencellphonesandcancerrisk.""Giventhepotentialconsequencesforpublichealthofthisclassificationandfindings,"saidIARCDirectorChristopherWild,"itisimportantthatadditionalresearchbeconductedintothelong-term,heavyuseofmobilephones.Pendingtheavailabilityofsuchinformation,itisimportanttotakepragmaticmeasurestoreduceexposuresuchashands-freedevicesortexting."TheWorkingGroupconsideredhundredsofscientificarticles;thecompletelistwillbepublishedintheMonograph.Itisnoteworthytomentionthatseveralrecentin-pressscientific
articles"
resultingfromtheInterphonestudyweremadeavailabletotheworkinggroupshortlybeforeitwasduetoconvene,reflectingtheiracceptanceforpublicationatthattime,andwereincludedintheevaluation.AconcisereportsurnmanzmgthemainconclusionsoftheIARCWorkingGroupandtheevaluationsofthecarcinogenichazardfromradiofrequencyelectromagneticfields(includingtheuseofmobiletelephones)willbepublishedinTheLancetOncologyinitsJuly1issue,andinafewdaysonline.
2
'Limitedevidenceofcarcinogenicity':
ApositiveassociationhasbeenobservedbetweenexposuretotheagentandcancerforwhichacausalinterpretationisconsideredbytheWorkingGrouptobecredible,butchance,biasorconfoundingcouldnotberuledoutwithreasonableconfidence.
3
'Inadequateevidenceofcarcinogenicity':
Theavailablestudiesareofinsufficientquality,consistencyorstatisticalpowertopermitaconclusionregardingthepresenceorabsenceofacausalassociationbetweenexposureandcancer,ornodataoncancerinhumansareavailable.
4
a.'Acousticneuromariskinrelationtomobiletelephoneuse:resultsoftheINTERPHONEinternationalcase-controlstudy'(theInterphoneStudyGroup,inCancerEpidemiology,
inpress)
b.'EstimationofRFenergyabsorbedinthebrainfrommobilephonesintheInterphonestudy'(CardisetaI.,OccupationalandEnvironmentalMedicine,
inpress)
c.'RiskofbraintumoursinrelationtoestimatedRFdosefrommobilephones-resultsfromfiveInterphonecountries'(CardisetaI.,OccupationalandEnvironmentalMedicine,
inpress)
d.'LocationofGliomasinRelationtoMobileTelephoneUse:ACase-CaseandCase-SpecularAnalysis'(AmericanJournalofEpidemiology,May24,2011.[Epubaheadof
print],
IARC,150CoursAlbertThomas,69372LyonCEDEX08,France-Tel:+33(0)472738485-Fax:+33(0)472738575
©
IARC2011-AllRightsReserved.
Page3
IARCCLASSIFIESRADIOFREQUENCYELECTROMAGNETICFIELDSASPOSSIBLYCARCINOGENICTOHUMANS
Formoreinformation,pleasecontactDrKurtStraif,IARCMonographsSection,at+33472738511,orstraif@iarc.fr;DrRobertBaan,IARCMonographsSection,at+33472738659,orbaan@iarc.fr;orNicolasGaudin,IARCCommunicationsGroup,atcom@iarc.fr(+33472738478)Linktotheaudiofilepostedshortlyafterthebriefing:http:L1terrance.who.int!mediacentre!audio!pressbriefings!AboutIARCTheInternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer(IARC)ispartoftheWorldHealthOrganization.Itsmissionistocoordinateandconductresearchonthecausesofhumancancer,themechanismsofcarcinogenesis,andtodevelopscientificstrategiesforcancercontrol.TheAgencyisinvolvedinbothepidemiologicalandlaboratoryresearchanddisseminatesscientificinformationthroughpublications.meetings.courses,andfellowships.Ifyouwishyournametoberemovedfromourpressreleasee-mailinglist,pleasewritetocom@iarc.fr.NicolasGaudin,Ph.D.Head,IARCCommunicationsInternationalAgencyforResearchonCancerWorldHealthOrganization
lSD,
IARC,150CoursAlbertThomas,69372LyonCEDEX08,France-Tel:+33(0)472738485-Fax:+33(0)472738575
©
IARC2011-AllRightsReserved.
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