Cell-Phone Radiation And Cancer Link Found: Government Study

A new government study found a link between heavy doses of cell-phone radiation and cancer in some rats, but the research's implications for humans are unclear.

After being exposed to two types of radiation produced by cell phones, some male rats in the study developed heart and brain tumors, while female rats did not. And the rats who did get the cancer still lived longer than the ones who didn't experience any radiation.

But the tumors seen in the rats were similar to those in other cell phone-cancer studies.

"Given the widespread global usage of mobile communications among users of all ages, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to RFR could have broad implications for public health," states a report of partial findings released Friday.

The study was conducted by the National Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Health.

Patch has reached out to the institute, and we'll let you know when we hear back.

• Read the results here

With a $25 million price tag, the multi-year study is one of the biggest government undertakings in the search to answer a question with potentially huge implications for society at large.

Full data from the study has yet to be released.

“There will have to be a lot of work after this to assess if it causes problems in humans, but the fact that you can do it in rats will be a big issue," Christopher Portier, former head of the toxicology program, told Scientific American. "It actually has me concerned, and I’m an expert.”

CTIA, a group representing the wireless communications industry, urged patience in jumping to any conclusions.

"CTIA and the wireless industry note the release of the National Toxicology Program partial findings, and are still reviewing those findings," a statement emailed to Patch said. "The larger scientific community will consider the partial findings, as well as the complete reports, in the context of the many other scientific studies conducted over several decades."

The jury is still very much out scientifically about the correlation between cell-phone radiation and cancer in humans.

The World Health Organization officially classifies the radiation as a "Group 2B" carcinogen, defined as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Other Group 2B carcinogens include coffee and some pickled vegetables.

American health groups like the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration don't make any definitive statements about cell phones causing cancer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website says, "At this time we do not have the science to link health problems to cell phone use."

It continues, "Scientific studies are underway to determine whether cell phone use may cause health effects. It is also important to consider the benefits of cell phones. Their use can be valuable in an urgent or emergency situation – and even save lives."

The National Institute of Health, in a statement sent to several media outlets, agreed more research is needed.

"It is important to note that previous human, observational data collected in earlier, large-scale population-based studies have found limited evidence of an increased risk for developing cancer from cell phone use," the statement said.