A major international study into the link between cell phone use and two types of brain cancer has proved inconclusive, according to a report in a medical journal due to be published later this week.
The study of almost 13,000 cell phone users found no increase in risk of developing meningioma — a common and frequently benign tumor — and only "suggestions" of increased risk for gliomas — a less common but deadlier form of cancer — from heavy long-term use.
The 10-year study, which was conducted by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, concluded that "biases and error prevent a causal interpretation" directly blaming cell phone radiation for increased risk of developing glioma.
One source of inaccuracies was the fact that participants were asked to remember how much they used their mobiles over the past decade, possibly explaining why results for some groups showed lower risk of cancer among cell phone users.
Researchers said further investigation is necessary before they can conclude there is no link between cell phone radiation and brain cancer because people's use of the devices has changed considerably since the start of the study.
Scientists are also planning to examine the whether cell phone use increases the risk of tumors in the ear's acoustic nerve and the parotid gland, where saliva is produced. A separate study will look into the effects of cell phone use on children, who are believed to be more susceptible to the effects of radiation.
The paper, which will be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on Tuesday, was compiled by researchers in 13 countries including Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Japan, but not the U.S. Scientists interviewed 12,848 participants, of which 5,150 had either meningioma or glioma tumors.
Almost a quarter of the euro19.2 million (23.98 million) required to fund the study was provided by the cell phone industry.
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Online:
International Journal of Epidemiology: http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/
International Agency for Research on Cancer: http://www.iarc.fr/