Do cellphones cause cancer? The answer coming from the latest US Government study on cellphone radiation appears to be ‘yes.’ The National Toxicity Program (NTP) Carcinogenesis Studies on Cellphone RadioFrequency Radiation completed earlier this year. While the full results won’t be released until 2017/2018, in May, the NTP released a report detailing partial findings here. They decide to release the report because the data suggested that the tumors they attribute to cellphone radiation are the same tumors shown in certain epidemiological studies on humans. The report states:

The tumors in the brain and heart observed at low incidence in male rats exposed to GSM- and CDMA-modulated cell phone RFR in this study are of a type similar to tumors observed in some epidemiology studies of cell phone use. These findings appear to support the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conclusions regarding the possible carcinogenic potential of RFR.

The studies showed increased rates of glioma and heart schwannomas in rats (more prevalent in male rates) exposed to varying degrees of radiation from cellular frequencies. There has been much confusion about these results and too much ‘spin’ as to what the results mean. In a very basic sense, the study showed that there is a dose-dependent response to cellular radiation. This means that as the levels of radiation were increased, the incidence of certain cancers did as well. The study showed that 1 out of 12 (8.3%) male rats developed tumors of the brain or heart compared to none (0 of 90) in the control group.

As the Scientific American reported on the results:

The researchers found that as the thousands of rats in the new study were exposed to greater intensities of RF radiation, more of them developed rare forms of brain and heart cancer that could not be easily explained away, exhibiting a direct dose–response relationship. Overall, the incidence of these rare tumors was still relatively low, which would be expected with rare tumors in general, but the incidence grew with greater levels of exposure to the radiation. Some of the rats had glioma—a tumor of the glial cells in the brain—or schwannoma of the heart. Furthering concern about the findings: In prior epidemiological studies of humans and cell phone exposure, both types of tumors have also cropped up as associations.

The study concluded that there was statistically significant or pairwise trend evidence of DNA damage (tumors) from cellphone radiation in both mice and rats, as well as increased incidence of tumors (but not statistically significant). Statistically significant incidence of tumors were found in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, liver, and blood. All but the female rats showed statistically significant and pairwise increases in frontal cortex brain cancers. This is a serious finding and explains why the NTP decided to release preliminary results early. Here is the summary from the results presentation:

In the past, epidemiological studies have clouded the issue, but as stated in Heal and Protect: A Wireless World, cancer is a lagging result and preceded by other health issues along the way. There are many issues with epidemiological studies. These actual studies on rats and mice by the NTP clearly demonstrate that cellphone radiation can cause cancer, and should challenge the skeptics who continue to parrot ‘that there are no known mechanisms by which cellphones can cause cancer.’ This study is another clear sign that there are health issues to consider with regards to cellphones.

More importantly, we need additional studies on the more recent wireless technology of 4G and soon to be 5G. This study was initiated in 2001 and took 15 years to complete, but it looked at 2G technology which emits less than radiation than the 4G technologies which are common now. 5G promises to have even more bandwidth and radiation, so it is clear we need to do similar studies before allowing 5G technology. This is unlikely because of the time it takes to do the studies and the urgency to sell newer and faster devices. The takeaway is that even though the results have been released in 2016, the wireless technology studies dates back to the early 2000’s, before we connected to the internet on our phones.

Sources

National Toxicity Program Results Summary Presentation
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/research/areas/cellphone/slides_bioem_wyde.pdf

Partial Report Released on Brain Cancers and Schwannomas:
http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/06/23/055699

Good Summary by safeemr.com
http://www.saferemr.com/2016/05/national-toxicology-progam-finds-cell.html

Scientific American Article
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/major-cell-phone-radiation-study-reignites-cancer-questions/