There is no connection between mobile phone use and brain cancer, according to a new review commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
A panel of experts examined over 5,000 studies published from 1994 to 2022.
The panel found that although the use of wireless technologies has significantly increased in the past few decades, there has been “no rise in the incidence of brain cancers”.
It also found that exposure to TV and broadcasting antennas does not increase the risk of some cancers in children.
Background
Wireless communication devices – including mobile phones, radio stations, and WiFi networks – transmit messages and calls using invisible radio energy waves.
In 2011, WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified exposure to these radio waves as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” i.e. capable of causing cancer.
The IARC noted that this classification relied on evidence that was both “limited” and “inadequate,” but strong enough to suggest “there could be some risk.”
Review
A panel of experts from across the world have today published the “most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the evidence to date.”
It looked at over 5000 studies published between 1994 and 2022. 63 studies of brain cancers in adults and children were included in the final analysis.
No link between mobile phone use and increased risk of brain cancer was found.
Additionally, exposure to TV and broadcasting antennas was not linked to risks of childhood cancer.
Lead author Ken Karipidis, an associate professor with Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA), said the review had access to a larger dataset than the IARC did in 2011. This meant researchers could be “confident” in the new findings.
Karipidis said the review findings were consistent with previous ARPANSA research, indicating that “although the use of wireless technology has massively increased in the last 20 years, there has been no rise in the incidence of brain cancers.“
