Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.
TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust.
What just happened? Society has a history of associating new technology with possible effects on health, one notable example being during the pandemic, when unfounded reports claimed that cell towers caused Covid-19, leading to attacks on these structures. Now, a new report has debunked long-held suggestions about the link between brain cancer and cell phone use, bringing relief to billions of users around the world.
Many mobile phone users have been concerned about a possible link between the use of these handsets and cancer ever since the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organization's cancer agency, classified radio wave exposure as a possible carcinogen to humans in 2011 – they can now stop worrying.
According to a review commissioned by the WHO, researchers have found no link between mobile phone use and brain cancer or other head and neck cancers. This study, led by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), examined over 5,000 studies published between 1994 and 2022, ultimately focusing on 63 of the most scientifically rigorous observational studies.
What sets this new review apart is its methodology and scope. It included more recent cohort studies that don't rely on people's memories of past exposure. The review was conducted by 11 investigators from 10 countries and the researchers are viewed as independent.
Given how integral mobile phone use has become in day-to-day life around the world, the findings are significant. Despite the exponential increase in usage over the past decades, brain tumor rates have remained stable, providing strong evidence against any causal relationship. Even prolonged use of 10 years or more showed no increased risk.
In addition to brain cancer, the study examined other types of cancers, including those of the central nervous system (meninges, pituitary gland, and ear), salivary gland tumors, and brain tumors.
To understand these findings, it's important to understand the type of radiation emitted by mobile phones. Like other wireless technologies, mobile phones emit radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation, also known as radio waves. This type of radiation is non-ionizing, meaning it doesn't have enough energy to break chemical bonds or damage DNA directly.
When the IARC classified radio-frequency fields as a "possible" carcinogen in 2011, it put radio waves in the same category as hundreds of other substances where the evidence of harm was unclear, including aloe vera and pickled vegetables.
The review also addressed concerns about cell phone towers and newer generation mobile networks. Cell towers, which use radio energy waves to transmit calls and text messages, were not found to be a cancer risk.
Interestingly, newer generation mobile networks, including 3G and 4G, actually produce lower radio frequency emissions than older networks. While there are no major studies yet on 5G networks, studies on radar, which uses similar high frequencies, do not show an increased risk.
While these findings are reassuring, the scientific community emphasizes that ongoing research is still essential. The researchers are now working on a second part of the study, which will examine cancers less commonly associated with mobile phones, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.