Still No Link Between Cell Phones and Cancer

A study just published in the British Medical Journal shows no link between early childhood cancers and exposure to cell phone base stations during pregnancy. The researchers compared 1397 children with cancer to 5588 without, linking their address at birth with proximity to cell phone towers. They found that children born to mothers who lived close to cell phone towers were just as likely—or unlikely—to have cancer as children born to mothers who lived far away from cell phone towers. In other words, pregnant women don’t need to worry that cell phone towers will cause cancer in their babies.

This study joins many other studies and expert opinions published in top-tier medical journals demonstrating no link between cell phones and cancer. Just to drive that point home, here’s a list of only some of the studies showing no link:

Muscat JE et al, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000

Inskip PD et al, New England Journal of Medince, 2001

Christensen HC et al, American Journal of Epidemiology, 2004

Christensen HC et al, Neurology, 2005

Schoemaker MJ et al, British Journal of Cancer, 2005

Lonn S et al, American Journal of Epidemiology, 2005

Schuz J et al, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2006

Schuz J, American Journal of Epidemiology, 2006

Hepworth SJ, British Medical Journal, 2006

Lahkola A, International Journal of Cancer, 2007

The debate isn’t completely over yet, though. The authors of these studies point out that long-term effects can’t be known for certain, given that cell phones have only been widely used for about two decades. Critics of the studies point out some of them have some financial backing from cell phone corporations, and that no high-quality studies have been done in children. Still, if cell phones did cause a large increase in brain cancer, you’d think neurosurgeons would have detected a surge in cases, especially with the four billion phones now in existence. So for those of you who just bought the new Iphone, brain cancer should be the least of your worries.

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