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they were able to make choices more quickly in one visual test
when they were exposed to simulated mobile phone signals. This
was the only change noted among more than 20 variables
compared.
3. In a study of 209 brain tumor cases and 425 matched controls,
there was no increased risk of brain tumors associated with mobile
phone use. When tumors did exist in certain locations, however,
they were more likely to be on the side of the head where the
mobile phone was used. Because this occurred in only a small
number of cases, the increased likelihood was too small to be
statistically significant.
4. In summary, we do not have enough information at this point to
assure the public that there are, or are not, any low incident health
problems associated with use of mobile phones. FDA continues to
work with all parties, including other federal agencies and industry,
to assure that research is undertaken to provide the necessary
answers to the outstanding questions about the safety of mobile
phones.
What is known about cases of human cancer that have been
reported in users of hand-held mobile phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been diagnosed
with brain cancer. But it is important to understand that this type of
cancer also occurs among people who have not used mobile
phones. In fact, brain cancer occurs in the U.S. population at a rate
of about 6 new cases per 100,000 people each year. At that rate,
assuming 80 million users of mobile phones (a number increasing
at a rate of about 1 million per month), about 4800 cases of brain
cancer would be expected each year among those 80 million
people, whether or not they used their phones. Thus it is not
possible to tell whether any individual’s cancer arose because of the
phone, or whether it would have happened anyway. A key question
is whether the risk of getting a particular form of cancer is greater
among people who use mobile phones than among the rest of the
population. One way to answer that question is to compare the
usage of mobile phones among people with brain cancer with the
use of mobile phones among appropriately matched people without
brain cancer. This is called a case-control study. The current case-
control study of brain cancers by the National Cancer Institute, as
well as the follow-up research to be sponsored by industry, will
begin to generate this type of information.
What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of mobile phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting
consumer products such as mobile phones before marketing, as it
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that the average length of mobile phone exposure in this study was
less than three years.
When 20 types of glioma were considered separately, however, an
association was found between mobile phone use and one rare
type of glioma, neuroepithelliomatous tumors. It is possible with
multiple comparisons of the same sample that this association
occurred by chance. Moreover, the risk did not increase with how
often the mobile phone was used, or the length of the calls. In fact,
the risk actually decreased with cumulative hours of mobile phone
use. Most cancer causing agents increase risk with increased
exposure. An ongoing study of brain cancers by the National
Cancer Institute is expected to bear on the accuracy and
repeatability of these results.
1. Researchers conducted a large battery of laboratory tests to
assess the effects of exposure to mobile phone RF on genetic
material. These included tests for several kinds of abnormalities,
including mutations, chromosomal aberrations, DNA strand breaks,
and structural changes in the genetic material of blood cells called
lymphocytes. None of the tests showed any effect of the RF except
for the micronucleus assay, which detects structural effects on the
genetic material. The cells in this assay showed changes after
exposure to simulated cell phone radiation, but only after 24 hours
of exposure. It is possible that exposing the test cells to radiation
for this long resulted in heating. Since this assay is known to be
sensitive to heating, heat alone could have caused the
abnormalities to occur. The data already in the literature on the
response of the micronucleus assay to RF are conflicting. Thus,
follow-up research is necessary.
2. FDA is currently working with government, industry, and
academic groups to ensure the proper follow-up to these industry-
funded research findings. Collaboration with the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) in particular is
expected to lead to FDA providing research recommendations and
scientific oversight of new CTIA-funded research based on such
recommendations.
Two other studies of interest have been reported recently in the
literature:
Two groups of 18 people were exposed to simulated mobile phone
signals under laboratory conditions while they performed cognitive
function tests. There were no changes in the subjects’ ability to
recall words, numbers, or pictures, or in their spatial memory, but