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Doctor: Cell Phones May Cause Cancer

Posted on: Thursday, 24 July 2008, 08:25 CDT

Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a strong warning on Wednesday:  Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

The warning is converse to many studies that don’t find a link between cancer and cell phone usage, and a lack of concern by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Herberman based his warning on unpublished data.  The doctor says it takes too long to get answers from scientists and believes people should take action, especially when dealing with children.

"Really at the heart of my concern is that we shouldn't wait for a definitive study to come out, but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later," Herberman said.

No other cancer research institutions have given any warnings about cell phone use, but Herberman’s recommendation is bound to raise anxiety among cell phone users, and parents.

In the note sent to nearly 3,000 staff and faculty, Herberman stated that children should use cell phone only for emergencies, because of their developing brains.

According to Herberman, adults should use the speakerphone and keep the phone away from the head.  He also warns against using cell phones in public places because it exposes others to electromagnetic fields.

Electromagnetic radiation is an issue that has concerned some scientists, especially its possible effects on children.  It has not been a major topic at any conferences of brain specialists.

In 2008, the University of Utah analyzed nine studies on thousands of brain tumor patients and “found no overall increased risk of brain tumors among cellular phone users. The potential elevated risk of brain tumors after long-term cellular phone use awaits confirmation by future studies."

Last year, studies in France and Norway yielded the same results.

"If there is a risk from these products - and at this point we do not know that there is - it is probably very small," the Food and Drug Administration says on its Web site.

But Herberman still cites a "growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer."

"Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use," he wrote in his note to faculty.

Devra Lee Davis, director of the university’s center for environmental oncology, was the driving force behind the memo.

"The question is do you want to play Russian roulette with your brain," she said in an interview from her cell phone while using the hands-free speakerphone as recommended. "I don't know that cell phones are dangerous. But I don't know that they are safe."

Davis, a former health adviser in the Clinton Administration said the major concern is the unknown effects from a decade of cell phone use.

20 different groups have endorsed the advice the Pittsburgh cancer institute gave, and authorities in England, France and India have cautioned children's use of cell phones, Davis said.

Davis and Herberman both point to an ongoing research project known as Interphone.  Results from peer-reviewed journals haven’t been so alarming, but Herberman is citing unpublished results.

Published research from the project focused on more than 5,000 cases of brain tumors.  The National Research Council in the U.S. reported in January that the research had “selection bias,” meaning it required the cancer patients to remember how often they used their cell phones.  The method is not considered an accurate approach.

In 2006, the largest published study tracked 420,000 Danish cell phone users and found no increased risk of cancer.

A French study published in 2007 concluded that normal cell phone users had “no significant increased risk” for major nervous system tumors.  The study did note that there seemed to be an increased risk “among the heaviest users” for one type of brain tumor. 

Earlier research found no connection.

There are at least a dozen studies that have found no cancer-cell phone link, said Joshua E. Muscat of Penn State University, who has studied cancer and cell phones in research projects partly funded by cell phone companies.  Muscat said the Swedish study cited by Herberman was biased and flawed.

"We certainly don't know of any mechanism by which radiofrequency exposure would cause a cancerous effect in cells. We just don't know this might possibly occur," Muscat said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, a type of radiation that is a form of electromagnetic radiation.  Though studies are being conducted, none have found a definite link between cell phones and cancer.

"By all means, if a person feels compelled that they should take precautions in reducing the amount of electromagnetic radio waves through their bodies, by all means they should do so," said Dan Catena, of the American Cancer Society. "But at the same time, we have to remember there's no conclusive evidence that links cell phones to cancer, whether it's brain tumors or other forms of cancer."

Spokesman for the CTIA-The Wireless Association, Joe Farren, said the group deems there is a risk of misinforming the public if proper science isn't used in the issue.

"When you look at the overwhelming majority of studies that have been peer reviewed and published in scientific journals around the world, you'll find no relationship between wireless usage and adverse health affects," Farren said.

On Wednesday, Frank Barnes, who chaired the January report from the National Research Council, said, "the jury is out" on how dangerous long-term cell phone use could be.

The professor of computer and electrical engineering at the University of Colorado said he doesn’t take any special precautions in his own phone use. And he offered no specific suggestions to those concerned about the matter.

It's up to each individual to decide what to do. If people use a cell phone instead of having a landline, "that may very well be reasonable for them," he said.

58-year-old Susan Juffe heard about Herberman’s cell phone advice on the radio.

"Now, I'm worried. It's scary," she said.

Juffe says she’ll think long and hard about letting her 10-year-old daughter use the cell phone.

"I don't want to get it (brain cancer) and I certainly don't want you to get it," she said to her daughter.

Sara Loughran, a 24-year-old doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh, heard the news on Wednesday, but was not concerned.  She sat in a bus stop chatting on her cell phone.

"I think if they gave me specific numbers and specific information and it was scary enough, I would be concerned," Loughran said. "Without specific numbers, it's too vague to get me worked up."

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On the Net:

• University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

Source: redOrbit Staff & WIre Reports

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