Reports linking mobiles to cancer cause confusion

Experts have poured cold water on the latest study on the potential health risks of cellular phones, which claims to have found increased risk of brain tumours in mobile users.

The study, released by the Swedish National Institute for Working Life, claims to have identified a 240 per cent increased risk of a malignant tumour on the side of the head the phone is most commonly used.

Heavy users - those which were early adopters and continued to use mobiles for around 2,000 hours, or one hour per day for ten years - were found to be more at risk.

But this research flies in the face of previous studies carried out by the Institute of Cancer Research and the universities of Leeds, Nottingham and Manchester, which gave cell phone usage a tentative all clear.

Lennart Hardell, one of the chief researchers on the Swedish paper, argued that the contradictory findings were attributable to the fact that ''this is one of the few studies carried out with such a long latency period.''

Hardell's research looks at subjects which have been using cell phones in excess of ten years. Meanwhile, a majority of subjects in the previous research from Cancer Research had been using mobiles for a lesser period, drawing the conclusion that there was no risk for those using mobiles for up to 10 years, but warning that there may be risk in longer term use.

However, the publication of inconsistent and incongruous reports appears to do nothing to either alleviate or highlight public concern. Even a number of neurosurgeons at the Society of British Neurological Surgeons dismissed the latest report as ''just another contradictory study.''

The Swedish paper has also drawn criticism from other experts in the field because it uses pooled research. Hardell told telecoms.com that the two step study consisted of previous research carried out between 1997 and 2000, which was deemed too short a time frame, and then merged with research carried out using the same protocol through to 2003.

''We're pretty sure of our results,'' Hardell said, ''we have found an increased risk to health after ten years of mobile phone usage.''

07.04.06
Part 2

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