Scientific studies are a mixed bag

No Problem

* Epidemiology: A study conducted by members of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics and published this spring in The New England Journal of Medicine showed no association between cell phone users and certain types of brain tumors. The study, conducted between 1994 and 1998, compared 782 brain cancer patients with 799 controls who had been admitted to the same hospitals for different reasons.

* Danish study: A study of 420,000 Danish cell phone users, conducted by the Danish Cancer Society and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute this spring, showed no correlation between cell phone use and brain or nervous system cancers. Some people in the study used a cell phone for 10 years, but it was reported that the majority had used them for about three years.

* Case study: Researchers at the American Health Foundation, after conducting a four-year case-control study that was published last December in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said they found no association between cell phone use and brain cancer risk. Joshua Muscat headed the study, which looked at 469 people with brain cancer and 422 people without brain cancer. However, Muscat told Network World that he found a correlation in a subgroup of patients with a rare type of slow-growing tumor. He says he wants to conduct more studies.

* Royal Society of Canada: An Expert Panel Report prepared under the direction of the Royal Society of Canada for Health Canada, states that studies do not provide conclusive evidence of adverse health effects from radio frequency exposure. However, the report also notes that there are documented biological effects of RF fields at even low levels and those effects could "potentially be associated with adverse health effects." The report calls for more research.

Risky Business

* Human blood study: Dr. Ray Tice and Dr. Graham Hook of the Integrated Laboratory Systems in Research Triangle Park, N.C., conducted an 18-month-long study, which ended last year, to evaluate the genetic effects of cell phone frequency fields. Although tests for chromosome damage and mutations in bacterial cells showed no effect, a test on micronuclei in human blood cells showed a biological effect. When human blood in a test tube was exposed to cell phone radiation for 24 hours, it caused an eight-fold increase in micronuclei cells, which means there is something wrong with the way the cell divides or is able to repair itself. Some scientists say there is a direct link between the presence of micronuclei and cancer.

* Blood-brain barrier: A 1994 study by Dr. Leif Salford showed a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier of rats when they were exposed to radio waves. The blood-brain barrier refers to blood vessels in the head that have filtering capabilities to protect the brain from toxins.

* Epidemiology: In 2000, Dr. Lennart Hardell, while working for the Department of Oncology at Orebro Medical Center in Orebro, Sweden, conducted an epidemiological study under the direction of the World Health Organization. The study concluded that the risk of developing a tumor in the area near the cell phone antenna was 2.4 times greater than the chance that a tumor would develop in any other portion of the brain.

* German study: In January, a team of scientists at the University of Essen in Germany concluded that people who regularly use a mobile phone are three times more likely to develop cancer of the eye. The study, which was published in the January issue of Epidemiology, focused on 118 patients with eye cancer, comparing their histories of cell phone usage with that of a control group.

* Swedish study: A study of 1,617 brain tumor patients, aged 20 to 80, found the use of analog phones for at least one year but less than 10 years increased the risk of brain cancer by 26 percent, and that number went up to 77 percent for those using analog phones for more than 10 years, according to Dr. Lennart Hardell, who conducted the research with Dr. Kjell Hansson Mild.

Cell phone safety
Convinced that using the company-issued cell phones on the job caused his brain tumor, Mark Hart filed a workers' compensation claim. The Hart case and others like it, while human tragedies, raise serious issues for network and telecom executives.

Cell phone industry faces legal tests
Gibb Brower used a cell phone to help run his business from the road or on job sites for four years. He says his cell phones caused the growth of two tumors and a surrounding cancer field on the right side of his head where he held the phone.

Interesting facts and statistics
Find out how much power a cell phone uses, how many Americans use cell phones, and other useful info.

FCC/FDA FAQ
Which agency handles what, how are they involved, and other important questions we have the answers to.

Patent filings raise questions
Even as major cell phone manufacturers argued that phones pose no health risks, the companies were filing patents for devices designed to protect users from radiation emitted by the phones.

Scientific studies are a mixed bag
Research into the safety of cellular phones has resulted in some studies that show no adverse effects, and others that raise questions.

Forum: Cell-phone risks
Discuss them with Dr. George Carlo, former director of the cellular industry's research effort on them.

Cell phone patents raise questions
Health risks once again at issue in light of technology patent review.
Network World, 06/15/01.

Cellphone suit will get its day in court
In ruling that could shake the cellphone industry, a federal judge let stand a lawsuit that says companies are making and selling cellphones with the knowledge that they may be dangerous.
IDG News Service, 01/19/01.

Study links mobile phone use with eye cancer
A German study purports to find a statistically significant link between a rare form of eye cancer and mobile telephone use.
Net.Worker, 01/16/01.

Cell phone use linked to brain cancer in new study
Users of mobile phones are at increased risk of developing brain tumors, especially if they use older analog phones.
Network World, 05/05/00.