WHO study

No increased risk of cancer due to cell phone use

According to the study, the use of cell phones does not lead to an increased risk of cancers such as brain, pituitary and salivary gland tumors or leukemia.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

People who use cell phones do not have an increased risk of developing cancer. This is the key finding of the most recent and largest meta-study ever conducted on the subject. The study was commissioned by the World Health Organization.

For the meta-study, the researchers reviewed 5,000 studies from the past decades and selected 63 studies based on previously defined and published criteria. The studies covered all types of cancer, but primarily those of the central nervous system, such as brain tumors.

"We analyzed and summarized all the scientific evidence from epidemiological studies, i.e. observational studies on humans, on the topic from all over the world," explained Dan Baaken, one of the authors of the study, from the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection. "We can say with a high degree of certainty that we have not overlooked anything."

The result: the use of cell phones did not lead to an increased risk of cancers such as brain, pituitary and salivary gland tumors or leukemia. There was also no increased risk with wireless landline telephones, according to the report. It was also examined whether living near radio antennas and mobile phone masts increased the likelihood of cancer - according to the evaluation, this was also not the case.

Baaken explained that the researchers also looked at so-called time series analyses. These include comparing the number of mobile phone contracts over the years with data from cancer registers in countries such as Australia, South Korea, England and Scandinavia. "Even there, there was no increase in brain tumors that would suggest a connection with cell phones."

"Classification changed"
Individual older case-control studies, in which sick people were asked about their cell phone use and compared with people who were not sick, had occasionally established a link between cancer and mobile phone use. "But they are susceptible to certain types of errors," explained Baaken. There are now results from studies with large groups that are superior to case-control studies in many respects. "This has changed the classification once again."

Studies on 5G are missing
The new meta-study has been published in the journal "Environment International". It includes studies up to the end of 2022, which is why there are no studies on the new 5G mobile phone standard, for example. "However, we have included studies with contact to radar sources, and radar has a similar frequency to 5G," said Baaken.

"No confirmed mechanism of action at the present time"
The fundamental question is therefore whether it is even possible for radiation from cell phones, i.e. electromagnetic waves, to have an effect on cells in the body. This kind of thing is also tested in the laboratory, for example. The Federal Institute explains that such a mechanism of action is not known. "From a scientific point of view, there is currently no confirmed mechanism of action that high-frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones and base stations cause cancer."