Geplaatst: 8 dec 2006 11:50 - Gewijzigd: 8 dec 2006 11:50

Mobiles ’cleared’ of cancer risk

COPENHAGEN - Long or short-term mobile phone use is not associated with increased risk of cancer, a major study has found.

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Mobile phone antennas emit electromagnetic fields that can penetrate the human brain. But a Danish team found no evidence that this was linked to an increased risk of tumours in the head or neck as had been feared. The study, of more than 420,000 mobile phone users, appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The researchers, from the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, looked at data on people who had been using mobile phones from as far back as 1982. More than 56,000 had been using a mobile phone for at least 10 years. They found no evidence to suggest users had a higher risk of tumours in the brain, eye, or salivary gland, or leukaemia.

Professor Tricia McKinney, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Leeds, said: „The results of this Danish cohort study are important as they have analysed data from mobile phone company records and do not rely on users remembering for up to 10 years in the past how often they used their phone. The large numbers of subscribers in the study mean we can have some confidence in the results that have not linked mobile phone use to a risk of any cancer, including brain tumours.”

There are more than one billion mobile phone users worldwide. (RD)