Mobile phones raise brain tumour risk
1 June 2011
Heavy use of mobile phones could lead to an increase in some brain tumours such as gliomas, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
A report released by IARC, which is affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO), concluded that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields generated by wireless devices such as mobile phones were "possibly" carcinogenic (cancer-causing) to humans.
A working party of the IARC said among users of wireless phones the evidence was "limited for glioma and acoustic neuroma (tumours of the auditory - hearing - nerve) and inadequate to draw conclusions for other types of cancers".
An Australian cancer researcher who worked on the report, Professor Bruce Armstrong from the University of Sydney, said the finding suggested that health risks for average users were "really quite small".
Avoiding heavy use through texting, hands-free devices or use of landlines would be prudent, he said.
Professor Armstrong told the ABC that the latest generation 3G phones, such as smartphones, may deliver a much lower dose of radio waves to the brain.
"Whether, for example, the 3G levels are sufficient to cause brain tumours, we don't know at this stage, because most of the research ... was done ... on the generation before," he said.
Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association chief executive officer Chris Althaus noted the IARC did not state how much risk or likelihood of cancer there is from mobile phones.
"In understanding the implications of this assessment, it should be remembered that wireless communications equipment is designed to operate within international and national exposure limits, which already have substantial margins built into them," he said in a statement.
Last Reviewed: 03 June 2011
- 1. International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC classifies radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans. 2011 May 31. http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf (accessed Jun 2011).
