February 04, 2004

By: Yannik Allan
Website: http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com

Study shows no connection between cell phone usage & brain cancer

With more than 86 million American cellular phone users reported in 1999 and the number still increasing, there has been growing concern about the risk of developing brain cancer from radiofrequency signals given off by handheld cellular phones. A case-control study of 891 people who regularly used a cellular phone showed no statistical association between the amount of cell phone usage and the likelihood of developing brain cancer. Researchers from the American Health Foundation and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and four United States medical centers reported their findings in the December 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The recent phenomenon of widespread use of cellular phones had been a suspected risk factor for the development of brain cancer and needed to be clarified by a study," explained Joshua Muscat, MPH, of the Division of Epidemiology of the American Health Foundation and the study's first author. "The data showed no correlation between the use of cell phones and the development of brain cancer. In addition, there was no association between the amount of cell phone usage and brain cancer."

In a retrospective, case-control study, 469 men and women diagnosed with primary brain cancer and 422 people without brain cancer were interviewed between 1994 and 1998 using a structured questionnaire. They were asked which type of cell phone (manufacturer) they used, the usage per month in minutes and hours, the year of first use, and the number of years of usage. In addition, an estimated monthly phone bill was ascertained. The patients, aged 18 to 80, were scrupulously matched to the control group by age, sex, race, years of education, and occupation.

Also See: cell phone ring tones.

Author Notes:

Yannik Allan contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com.  A cellular phone industry resource featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of cellular phone and service plans.