New UC Berkeley study suggests cell phones sharply increase tumor risk

[wackadoo wabbit]

This has been suggested for years.

New UC Berkeley research draws a strong link between cell phone radiation and tumors, particularly in the brain.

Researchers took a comprehensive look at statistical findings from 46 different studies around the globe and found that the use of a cell phone for more than 1,000 hours, or about 17 minutes a day over a ten year period, increased the risk of tumors by 60 percent.

Researchers also pointed to findings that showed cell phone use for 10 or more years doubled the risk of brain tumors.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/new-uc-berkeley-study-draws-strong-link-between-cell-phone-use-and-cancer
(Sorry for the Fox link; it was the best "Cliffs Notes" version I found.


For the geeks among us (and, yes, I'm one), here's a link to the actual study:

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/8079/htm#B7-ijerph-17-08079


Here's the Discussion from that study:

In sum, the updated comprehensive meta-analysis of case-control studies found significant evidence linking cellular phone use to increased tumor risk, especially among cell phone users with cumulative cell phone use of 1000 or more hours in their lifetime (which corresponds to about 17 min per day over 10 years), and especially among studies that employed high quality methods. Further quality prospective studies providing higher level of evidence than case-control studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

Seventeen minutes per day, people! That's terrifying, at least to me.

[elleng]

1. BAD news!

[2naSalit]

2. So does it count if you...

Never hold it up to your head and use the speaker? I only talk on the phone in private so I can use the speaker mode.



Wow, that's alarming news when you think about it.

[elleng]

3. Probably not (this non-scientist says,)

but it IS alarming; I have 4 young grandkids.

I speak on/into my cell phone 1-2 minutes/day (occasionally.)

[RockRaven]

7. With a couple of assumptions, yes "further away is better" is a decent rubric...

Those assumptions include, but are not limited to:
1) the electromagnetic radiation from the cell phone causes this clinical phenomenon/effect
2) the cell phone radio antenna broadcasts in all directions (i.e. inverse square law applies)
3) whatever is causing this effect has some dose-to-effect relationship even if nonlinear


In theory, cell phones use frequencies which are "non-ionizing radiation" meaning that they cannot break the covalent chemical bonds in DNA because they lack the energy to do so. So, if we assume that the findings/implications of causality are true, we need to consider one of the following may be true:
1) there is a significant misunderstanding in the biomedical sciences about what energies of electromagnetic radiation are capable of breaking covalent bonds in DNA
2) that electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones (and many other things, btw) causes an effect which (indirectly in terms of DNA) increases cancer/tumor risk (increased tissue temp? altered enzyme/protein activity? altered cellular metabolism?)


Many years ago an electrical engineer who worked in the field of radio transmitters associated with cell phones said to me, regarding this topic, "Look, cell phone antennas put out one watt of power. You put the phone up to your head, your head absorbs half a watt of microwave radiation. Whether or not there's medical proof yet, that's probably not good." Maybe that's outdated or simplistic, but it doesn't seem completely out of line considering that most of us cannot know with either certainty or expertise the truth of this matter.

[NJCher]

11. Very helpful post

Eom

[GB_RN]

15. Cell Phones Today Don't Even Put Out 1W

One Watt phones were the old, analog bag phones. Modern, digital smartphones' radios put out around a half-Watt of power, max. And as I understand it, the cell phone system actually controls the output of the phone, so it's usually less (based on signal strength, distance from the tower, etc).

As you said, it's non-ionizing radiation, so if there's an actual causation of increase in brain cancer, there's something else going on that we don't understand.

[NH Ethylene]

21. Microwaves create heat (such as with cooking food) by vibrating water molecules.

They set up an oscillating magnetic field that causing polar molecules (like water) to vibrate back and forth.

Possibly the heat causes damage to surrounding tissue, including the DNA in the nuclei of the cells, or the nucleic acids themselves are vibrated (since they also have some polarity), perhaps causing damage to them directly.

It would be nice if it had been researched before expanding into higher frequencies.

[woodsprite]

4. Hmmm. I have always carried my cell in my front jeans pocket

Now after 15 yrs cancer free from endometrial cancer, I’m dealing with a tumor low in my pelvis of the same stuff. They’re not calling it a recurrence, but a new instance of the same thing. Kind of thought the first bout had a lot to do with several years of infertility treatment. Maybe it was multiple factors.

[Beakybird]

5. Shit! I keep my phone by my groin. THAT'S why I grew a third testicle!

[ret5hd]

8. Huh. Sucks to be you...I grew...

a second penis.

[Beakybird]

9. Oh no! 🤣

[LudwigPastorius]

16. At least you're better off than the guy with 5 penises.

Sure, they are a burden to him, but at least his pants fit him like a glove.

[Warpy]

6. It's not a bad way to go, just very hard on the family

I still think they're overstating the risk.

I do see people who are on the things constantly, no matter what they are doing. There most likely is a risk to heavy users who are addicted to them to the point of losing track of what's going on around them. They also risk walking into traffic and falling down stairs, which is a lot quicker.

[Tumbulu]

10. "Safe Sleeve" and speaker phone

I rarely hold it near my head. But I do walk around with the phone in my pocket, and this worries me the most.

[NJCher]

12. I put mine in a carrying case around my neck

But it doesn’t stay there long because I consciously try to keep it 18” from my body.

I move it to the other car seat when I am driving. If shopping it goes in the cart.

I don’t call anyone and hardly anyone calls me.

Do a lot of texting.

Going to look up safe sleev.

[SunSeeker]

13. Everyone I know uses their cell for WAY more than 17 minutes each day.

I guess we're all gonna die of brain tumors.

[Mr.Bill]

14. Not a lot of info here on hard numbers.

Saying things double or quadruple are meaningless unless we know how many people per capita get these kind of tumors normally.

I mean buying two lottery tickets does double your chance of winning the lottery, but chances are still very slim. Now, if say five people out of twenty get these tumors, doubling that would be scary. But if one out of a thousand people get these tumors, then doubling that is really not that alarming.

[GB_RN]

18. Your Chances Of Getting Brain Cancer Are...

Less than 1%, lifetime. 1 in 150 men in the US, 1 in 185 women. So, even if we double those odds, that's still not even 2%, lifetime for men, a shade over 1% for women.

Unlike old, analog cell phones, the radio in a digital smartphone is NOT on unless you're actually talking on it. Yes, it does transmit when you text or look something up, but that's a burst transmission, and not a constant send/receive. Even a voice transmission is less send/receive than old analog radio cell phones due to the nature of digital communication, too. Overall, there's a lot less radio traffic with digital cell phones than with old, analog phones. So, keeping it in your pocket isn't going to cause issues...unless you're having long winded conversations with your phone in your pants...and maybe the battery catches fire.🤣

[littlemissmartypants]

17. I've read similar reports through the years and have been a cell phone user

Since 1992. I rarely have one next to my head. I'm glad my brain's not in my hands. Now, there's a visual!

After twenty nine years, nothing so far. I guess time will tell.

[multigraincracker]

19. How about 5G?

I bought an iPhone 11 instead of the 12 because of questions about my pacemaker. Warnings for all cell phone use less than 6 inches from the chest. The electromagnetic radiation seems to be the danger to pacemakers.

[Baitball Blogger]

20. 17 minutes per day?

I know people who walk every day for exercise that have a phone pressed to their ear for the entire 30 to 45 minute trek.