Mobiles linked to brain tumours

By staff writers

January 25, 2007 02:17pm

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SCIENTISTS have found long-term users of mobile phones are more likely to develop a certain type of tumour on the side of their head where they hold their handsets.

Britain's Daily Telegraph reports today that a large-scale study found that using a mobile phone for more than 10 years makes users 40 per cent more likely to develop tumours called gliomas.

Gliomas are tumours that form from glial cells in the central nervous system.

The findings of the study, which contradicts others which have failed to establish health risks linked to mobile phone use, will be published later this year in the International Journal of Cancer. The abstract of the research paper has been published online.

The Telegraph quoted Louis Slesin, the editor of microwavenews.com, which reported on the study, as saying: "We now have two tumour types found among people who use mobiles for more than 10 years shown by two different research groups."

The researchers refused to draw firm conclusions but said the findings warranted further investigation on the effects of long-term use of mobiles.

"The possible risk in the most heavily exposed part of the brain with long-term use needs to be explored further before firm conclusions can be drawn," the authors wrote.

Headed by researchers from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland, the study compared the mobile phone use of 1521 glioma patients with that of 3301 people without the tumours.

The Telegraph also quoted Professor Anssi Auvinen, a researcher involved in the study, as saying it "makes sense in terms of the length of time it takes for tumours to develop".

The tumours were "localised to the side of the head where the handset is held"

Källa Newscom - article UK Daily telegraph http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21116794-5005361,00.html

Mobile users 'may grow brain tumours'

January 25, 2007 - 5:20PM

 

People who use mobile phones for more than a decade are far more likely to grow brain tumours on the side of their head, new research shows.

Results from a European study of almost 5,000 people show that long-term mobile users were 40 per cent more likely to develop a type of nervous system tumour near their phone ear.

But the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) has warned the overall results showed no increased risk and should "not be taken too far".

The unpublished study, reported in a US newsletter Microwave News, adds to the mixed bag of findings on the dangers of mobile phone use.

Another recent study also suggested increased risks of head tumours, but several others have found no links.

Researchers at the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland enlisted a group of mobile phone users from four European countries - 1,521 with the cancerous tumours, called gliomas, and 3,301 people without.

The study, to be published in the International Journal of Cancer, found no link between tumours and mobile phone use in the group in general.

But when separating out long-term users, they found those who had used a handset for longer than 10 years were 39 per cent more likely than others to develop a tumour.

"Although our results overall do not indicate an increased risk of glioma in relation to mobile phone use, the possible risk in the most heavily exposed part of the brain with long-term use needs to be explored further before firm conclusions can be drawn," the authors wrote in their abstract.

The head of Britain's Mobile Telecommunications Health Research program, Professor Lawrie Challis, has told the Telegraph newspaper the study showed a "hint of something" for longer term users that needs further exploration.

But a spokesman for the AMTA, which promotes cellular communication in Australia, said the overall evidence freed mobiles of blame.

"It shows no evidence of increased risk of brain tumours," the spokesman said.

"And because of the very small number of people in the study you've got to be careful not to go too far with these results."

© 2007 AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Mobile-users-may-grow-brain-tumours/2007/01/25/1169594422176.html#

This story is from our news.com.au network Source: NEWS.com.au

Mobile phone use 'linked to tumour'

By Nic Fleming

Last Updated: 2:08am GMT 25/01/2007

 

Long-term users of mobile phones are significantly more likely to develop a certain type of brain tumour on the side of the head where they hold their handsets, according to new research.

A large-scale study found that those who had regularly used mobiles for longer than 10 years were almost 40 per cent more likely to develop nervous system tumours called gliomas near to where they hold their phones.

The new research, to be published later this year in the International Journal of Cancer, is the second study to suggest increased risks of specific types of brain tumours in regions close to where mobile phone emissions enter the head.

However, a number of other studies has found no increased health risks associated with mobile phone use.

Prof Lawrie Challis, the chairman of the government-funded Mobile Telecommunications Health Research (MTHR) programme, said last week that most research had shown that mobiles were safe in the short term but that there was a "hint of something" for longer-term users.

Prof Challis, who is negotiating funding for a long-term international study, said last night: "I agree with the authors that this is a hint that needs further exploration. It's further reason why a long-term study is necessary."

Louis Slesin, the editor of Microwave News, a US newsletter on radiation and health that reported the new study, said: "We now have two tumour types found among people who use mobiles for more than 10 years shown by two different research groups. That is compelling evidence."

Researchers from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland compared the mobile phone use of 1,521 people with gliomas with that of 3,301 people without the cancers.

Before separating out long-term users or looking at the different risks of developing tumours on the side where users held the phone, the scientists found no link between mobile use and gliomas.

However when they looked only at people who had used a mobile for 10 years or more, they found that they were 39 per cent more likely than average to get a glioma on the side of their head where they held their handset.

Prof Anssi Auvinen, an epidemiologist involved in the study, said: "It seems credible as it was after long-term exposure — which makes sense in terms of the length of time it takes for tumours to develop — and it is localised to the side of the head where the handset is held."

A spokesman for the Mobile Operators Association said: "The overall results of this study do not show increased brain tumour risk in relation to mobile phone use.

"The findings related to tumour location are difficult to interpret."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=W21I55STILUJDQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/25/nmobile25.xml