Mobile phones are possible cancer-causing agents, says report
The classification was issued in Lyon, France, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer after a review of dozens of published studies. The agency is an arm of the World Health Organisation and its assessment now goes to WHO and other health agencies for possible guidance on mobile phone use.
Classifying agents as “possibly carcinogenic” does not mean they automatically cause cancer and some experts said the ruling should not change people’s mobile phone habits.
“Anything is a possible carcinogen,” said Donald Berry, a professor of biostatistics at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. He was not linked to the WHO cancer group.
“This is not something I worry about and it will not in any way change how I use my cellphone,” he said — from his mobile phone.
After a week-long meeting, the expert panel said there was limited evidence mobile phone use was linked to two types of brain tumours and said there was inadequate evidence to draw conclusions for other cancers.
Panel chairman Jonathan Samet said: “We found some threads of evidence telling us how cancers might occur, but there were acknowledged gaps and uncertainties.”
Ed Yong of Cancer Research UK said: “The WHO’s verdict means there is some evidence linking mobile phones to cancer but it is too weak to draw strong conclusions from. If such a link exists, it is unlikely to be a large one.”
Last year, results of a large study found no clear link between the phones and cancer.
However, some advocacy groups contend the study raised serious concerns because it showed a hint of a possible connection between very heavy phone use and glioma, a rare but often deadly form of brain tumour.
The study was controversial because it began with people who already had cancer and asked them to recall how often they used their mobile phones more than a decade ago.
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