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uncertainty among scientists about whether results
obtained from animal studies apply to the use of
mobile phones. First, it is uncertain how to apply the
results obtained in rats and mice to humans. Second,
many of the studies that showed increased tumor
development used animals that had already been
treated with cancer-causing chemicals, and other
studies exposed the animals to the RF virtually
continuously—up to 22 hours per day.
For the past five years in the United States, the
mobile phone industry has supported research into
the safety of mobile phones. This research has
resulted in two findings in particular that merit
additional study:
1 In a hospital-based, case-control study,
researchers looked for an association between
mobile phone use and either glioma (a type of
brain cancer) or acoustic neuroma (a benign
tumor of the nerve sheath). No statistically
significant association was found between
mobile phone use and acoustic neuroma. There
was also no association between mobile phone
use and gliomas when all types of gliomas were
considered together. It should be noted 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
ST3000.01Book Page 99 Wednesday, March 8, 2000 2:32 PM
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