ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

By: Elliott P, Toledano MB, Bennett J, Beale L, de Hoogh K, Best N, Briggs DJ
Published in: BMJ 2010; 340 : c3077

This epidemiological study investigated whether proximity to mobile phone base stations by mothers during pregnancy is associated with early childhood cancer. The study included 1397 children with cancer aged between 0 and 4 years (the cases) and 5588 children without cancer (the controls) that were matched to the cases according to their gender and date of birth. The assessment of the exposure included the approximate distance between the birth address and the nearest mobile phone base station, the total power output for base stations within 700m of the birth address, and the power density for base stations within 1400m of the birth address. This information was used to compare, between groups exposed differently, estimates of the mothers' radiofrequency exposure from mobile phone base stations over nine months of pregnancy. There were no statistically significant increases in the risk of childhood cancer for any of the exposure measures. The authors concluded that there is no association between risk of early childhood cancers and estimates of the mother's exposure to mobile phone base stations during pregnancy.

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The paper is available from theInternational Journal of Epidemiology

Very few studies have investigated whether living close to mobile phone base stations is associated with cancer and these have been reviewed by the  International Commission of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection in 2009.

Overall, the research on environmental RF exposure from base stations and cancer does not provide adequate evidence for a possible association. However, as described in the ICNIRP review, the studies are hampered by many methodological limitations such as diverse exposure sources, poorly estimated population exposures, and selective investigation in response to cancer cluster concerns.

Public concern has also been expressed regarding the possibility of an association with childhood cancer. Apart from the study by Elliott et al no other study has looked specifically at children. In this study the authors note that there are a number of aspects of childhood cancer and exposure to mobile phone base stations that this study was not able to investigate. The analysis only includes the mothers’ exposure but not the children’s exposure. Also, the mothers' and children's details were identified from national registers and the researchers did not have individual contact with them for further information. So although this study shows no association further research is required

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By:  Danker-Hopfe H, et al
Published in:  Published in: J Sleep Res 2010: in press/p>

In this study, possible effects of radiofrequency radiation emitted by mobile phones on the central nervous system were analysed during sleep. In the study, 30 healthy male subjects aged 18-30 years were exposed to three exposure conditions (a Global System for Mobile Communications 900 signal - GSM, a Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System signal - WCDMA, and sham - no exposure). The subjects were exposed to levels that were close to but didn’t exceed international guidelines for exposure to RF. The authors concluded that the results were not indicative of a sleep-disturbing effect of GSM 900 and WCDMA exposure.

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By:  Mohler E, et al
Published in: Radiat Res 2010: in press

This study investigated the possible association between exposure to various sources of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields in the everyday environment and sleep quality. In the study a random sample of 1,375 residents of Basel in Switzerland were given a questionnaire on sleep quality. Exposure to RF from sources that are not right next to an individual (e.g. mobile phone base stations, broadcast antennas (PDF 63kb), wireless routers, etc) was calculated using a prediction model. Participants were also asked questions on their mobile/cordless phone use. The authors reported that the results did not show an impairment of subjective sleep quality due to exposure from various RF sources.

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By:  Hardell L, et al
Published in: Neuroepidemiology 2010; 35 (2): 109 – 114

In this study the possible association between mobile phone use and malignant brain tumour was investigated using subjects that died before inclusion in previous studies by the same authors. The study included 346 people with brain tumour which were deceased (the cases), 343 people which died from malignant disease other than brain tumour (cancer controls) and 276 people which died from diseases other than cancer (other controls). Mobile phone use was assessed by a questionnaire sent to the next-of-kin for both cases and controls. There was an increased risk for mobile phone use which was highest for prolonged use (more than 10 years). There was no clear association with cordless phone use. The authors concluded that this study confirmed their previous results of an association between mobile phone use and malignant brain tumours.

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By:  Kundi M
Published in: Neuroepidemiology 2010; 35 (2): 115 – 116

The author discusses the main issues/problems surrounding the epidemiological studies on mobile phone use and brain tumour. An essential problem in the research is the retrospective exposure assessment i.e. information on past mobile phone use was obtained by either interview (Interphone studies) or questionnaire (studies by Hardell and co-workers). Another problem is the possibility of selection bias stemming from the exclusion or inclusion of deceased brain cancer patients; the Interphone studies included retrospective information from other sources (e.g. from relatives). The author concludes that evidence collected in epidemiological studies points rather to an underestimation of risk from mobile phone use and less bias in the Hardell studies as compared to those of the Interphone group that are affected by selection and possibly also from errors in the characterisation of mobile phone use.

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