Cell Phones Don't Increase Chances of Brain Cancer

mclearn sends in news of "a very large, 30-year study of just about everyone in Scandinavia" that shows no link between mobile phone use and brain tumors. "Even though mobile telephone use soared in the 1990s and afterward, brain tumors did not become any more common during this time, the researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some activist groups and a few researchers have raised concerns about a link between mobile phones and several kinds of cancer, including brain tumors, although years of research have failed to establish a connection. ... 'From 1974 to 2003, the incidence rate of glioma (a type of brain tumor) increased by 0.5 per cent per year among men and by 0.2 per cent per year among women,' they wrote. Overall, there was no significant pattern."

extremes

[Lord Ender]

Are there any levels/frequencies of RF that are known to increase cancer rates? Or could I live on top of a radio tower and do just fine?

"Lots of things changed between 1974 and 2003."

[D4C5CE]

The widespread availability of tomography for one thing, which could have been expected to account for a higher detection rate of tumors, even in the absence of Chernobyl fallout and powerful EM emitters glued to everyone's ear.

Needs "duh" tag...

[stewbacca]

This story needs the "duh" tag. Radio frequency has been around much longer than cell phones. If RF caused cancer, we would have known it long before the advent of cell phones.

Re:Correlation is not causation

[Dun Malg]

Lots of things changed between 1974 and 2003. It could be that cell phones do increase the chance of brain cancer, but these other factors counteract it.

Not bloody likely. Not only would these mysterious "other factors" have had to coincidentally lowered brain cancer rate to the same degree cell phone usage presumably increased it, but it would have had to do it at the exact same time. This theory gets cut away by Occam's Razor pretty early.

If my calculations are correct...

[Xacid]

in a 29 year period rates have gone up:

14.5% for males.
5.8% for females.

And this isn't significant how? I'd say a steady yearly increase like that has to have SOME factor somewhere worth discovering - even if it may not be cell phones specifically.

Re:extremes

[Jarik C-Bol]

well, i am not a doctor of anything, but the thing to remember is, radio frequencies don't just go away if we're not using them. there is 'noise' on every frequency, caused by any number of natural sources (the sun, stars, what have you). we are constently being exposed to them. the real question is, does increased exposure to higher intensity sources frequencies cause any harm to people. for the most part, it seems the answer is no.

(this lends a lot of weight to the idea that the people that claim to be allergic to wifi are just a bunch of luddite scaremongers)

well they went up 0.5% per year

[cats-paw]

so isn't _something_ causing them ?

Re:Microwave radiation is not ionizing radiation

[phliar]

Try this: turn your phone off, and hold it to your ear for the duration of a long phone call. At the end your ear will feel warm and perhaps you will feel sweat between your ear and phone. Where's that heat coming from, hmmm?