ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

By: Deltour I, Johansen C, Auvinen A, Feychting M, Klaeboe L, Schüz J
Published in: J Natl Cancer Inst 2009: in press

This study investigated the incidence rates of the brain cancers, glioma and meningioma, in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) from 1974 to 2003, using data from national cancer registries. During this period the incidence rate of glioma increased by 0.5% per year (95% confidence interval, CI = 0.2% - 0.8%) among men and by 0.2% per year (95% CI = -0.1% - 0.5%) among women. For meningioma the incidence rate during 1974 to 2003 increased by 0.8% per year (95% CI = 0.4% - 1.3%) among men, and after the early 1990s, by 3.8% per year (95% CI = 3.2% - 4.4%) among women. The authors note that no change in incidence trends were observed from 1998 to 2003, the time when possible associations between mobile phone use and cancer risk would be informative about possible risk with an induction period (the time between exposure and first appearance of a disease) of 5-10 years.

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Mobile phone use increased substantially in the mid-1990s and therefore brain tumour incidence rates after 1998 may provide information about a possible association between mobile phone use and the risk of brain tumours. In this study there was no clear change in the long-term incidence of brain tumours from 1998 to 2003 compared with the previous period. There have been other studies that have compared temporal trends in disease rates with the prevalence of mobile phone use. Cook et al (2003) reported that incidence rates for malignancies arising in the head and neck have not changed since the introduction of mobile phones in New Zealand. Similarly Muscat et al (2006) showed no increase in the incidence rate of adult primary brain tumours in the US between 1973 to 2002. Finally, Roosli et al (2007) reported that brain tumour mortality rates remained stable in all age groups in Switzerland between 1969 to 2002. These studies do not rule out a risk if there is a delay between exposure and detection of a tumour of more than 10 years.

The INTERPHONE project is a multi-national series of case-control studies (from 13 different countries) testing whether using mobile phones increases the risk of various cancers in the head and neck. The INTERPHONE project is coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Further information on the project is available from the IARC website at _http://www.iarc.fr/en/research-groups/RAD/RCAd.html The INTERPHONE studies are based on a common core protocol to enable valid data pooling. Results from a pooled analysis of all the studies are expected at a later stage. An update on the INTERPHONE studies that have been published to date is available at: _http://www.iarc.fr/en/research-groups/RAD/Interphone8oct08.pdf

Cook, A., A. Woodward, et al. (2003). "Cellular telephone use and time trends for brain, head and neck tumours." N Z Med J 116(1175): U457. (PUBMED LINK)
Muscat, J. E., M. Hinsvark, et al. (2006). "Mobile telephones and rates of brain cancer." Neuroepidemiology 27(1): 55-6. (PUBMED LINK)
Roosli, M., G. Michel, et al. (2007). "Cellular telephone use and time trends in brain tumour mortality in Switzerland from 1969 to 2002." Eur J Cancer Prev 16(1): 77-82. (PUBMED LINK)

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By: Schlamann M et al
Published in: Acad Radiol 2009: in press

A human study investigating short term effects of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the excitability of the motor cortex. Twelve volunteers were exposed to MRI scanners with static magnetic fields of 1.5T and 7T and cortical excitability was measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The authors report that MRI examinations lead to a transient and highly significant alteration in cortical excitability. This effect does not seem to depend on the strength of the static magnetic field.

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By: Gaestel M
Published in: Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2009 Dec 15. [Epub ahead of print]

A review of scientific studies investigating radiofrequency radiation exposure and cellular stress response and overall gene expression. The author concludes that, in general, looking for non-thermal effects by examining heat shock response or the induction of intracellular protein kinases (types of enzymes that are used extensively to transmit signals and control complex processes in cells) is inherently problematic because it cannot exclude the possibility of thermal effects due to inhomogeneous temperature and SAR distribution within a sample. The author recommends that “omics” (i.e. genomics, proteomics etc) research be better designed to include confirmation by independent quantitative methods.

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By: Takahashi S et al
Published in: Radiat Res 2009: in press

An animal study investigating the potential adverse effects of long-term whole-body exposure to mobile phone type radiofrequency fields on the rat fetus. Pregnant rats were exposed to low, high or no exposure (exposure consisted of a 2.14 GHz signal applied for 20 h per day during the gestation and lactation periods). The authors report no adverse effects on pregnancy or on the development of rats under any of the exposure conditions.

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By: Hintzsche H, Stopper H
Published in: Toxicol Lett 2009: in press

A study investigating the effect of mobile phone use on the genomic instability of the human oral cavity's mucosa cells. A total of 131 volunteers donated buccal mucosa cells extracted by slightly scraping the oral cavity with a cotton swab. Mobile phone use was assessed via a questionnaire. Micronuclei and other markers were evaluated in 1000 cells per individual using a microscope. A second scorer counted another 1000 cells, resulting in 2000 analyzed cells per individual. The authors report that mobile phone use did not lead to a significantly increased frequency of micronuclei.

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