Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer?

There seems to be a new study surfacing from the medical field each week regarding the latest carcinogen among us. This time, it's cell phones. Startling information has surfaced in recent weeks from prominent physicians warning the public of the potential cancer risk associated with cell phone use.

Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, sounded the alarm to his faculty and staff last week, although there have been no studies to back up his claim. Herberman said he decided to err on the side of caution in sending the warning because medical testing results are time consuming. Once the results of the studies are published, many more people stand to be affected because no warning was sent out prior to the reporting of the findings.

Vini Khurana, an Australian neurosurgeon trained at the famed Mayo Clinic, concurs. Khurana has analyzed the results of over one hundred studies and has established a link between extended cell phone usage and the likelihood of developing malignant brain tumors. In some instances, that likelihood was two to four times greater than non-cell phone users.

While it's unclear which studies these doctors are referring to, the majority of the major studies that have been done found no direct link between cell phone usage and an increased risk for malignant brain tumors. The largest published study, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2006, tracked over 400,000 Danish cell phone users for a period of ten years and found no increased risk for brain tumors. The University of Utah reviewed nine studies, some of which were cited by Herberman, and were also unable to find a direct link between malignant tumors and cell phone usage. The World Health Organization, The Food and Drug Administration, and The American Cancer Institute all agree that there has not been sufficient evidence garnered from studies to issue a warning about a direct cancer risk from cell phone usage.

Because concrete evidence is lacking, most experts suggest that people continue to err on the side of caution with the realization that anything is possible. Since the cancer risk comes from the emission of radiation by cell phones, it's prudent to limit one's exposure to the substance. Cell phones use radiation to transmit signals between towers. The farther the user is from the tower and the weaker the signal, the higher the amount of radiation being generated by the phone. By limiting the amount of time you spend on your cell phone, you limit the amount of radiation you're exposed to. Experts also agree that it's important to limit children's access to and usage of cell phones as well, due to the fragility of their still-developing brains and the potentially adverse effects that radiation can have on them.