Here we go with cellphone tumors again

  • Medical
  • Thread starter Pythagorean
  • Start date
In summary: The only time I really ever use my phone for talking is when I'm on the phone to my bank or insurance companies as I need to actually speak to someone.
  • #1
Pythagorean
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Does a medical or statistics professional who understands all this jargon want to lay it out for me?

We performed two case–control studies on brain tumours diagnosed during 1 January 1997 to 30 June 2000 and 1 July 2000 to 31 December 2003, respectively. Living cases and controls aged 20–80 years were included. An additional study was performed on deceased cases with a malignant brain tumour using deceased controls. Pooled results for glioma yielded for ipsilateral use of mobile phone odds ratio (OR) = 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.8–4.7 in the >10 years latency group. The corresponding result for cordless phone was OR = 3.8, 95% CI = 1.8–8.1. OR increased statistically significant for cumulative use of wireless phones per 100 h and per year of latency. For high-grade glioma ipsilateral use of mobile phone gave OR = 3.9, 95% CI = 2.3–6.6 and cordless phone OR = 5.5, 95% CI = 2.3–13 in the >10 years latency group. Heredity for brain tumour gave OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 2.1–5.5 for glioma. There was no interaction with use of wireless phones. X-ray investigation of the head gave overall OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1–1.7 for glioma without interaction with use of wireless phones or heredity. In conclusion use of mobile and cordless phone increased the risk for glioma with highest OR for ipsilateral use, latency >10 years and third tertile of cumulative use in hours. In total, the risk was highest in the age group <20 years for first use of a wireless phone.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928468012000788
 
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  • #2
Also, I wonder if this study did anything significantly different than the numerous studies it contradicts?
 
  • #3
The link wasn't usable for me. However, given the large general population use of wireless devices, I'm not sure how they identify cell phone induced tumor vs. any other. Here's another link to comparable article that seems consistent with yours http://www.cancermonthly.com/blog/2007/12/braincancer-cellphones.html [Broken] I assume since most people are right handed, these are right side tumors?

Here's another article that researches and discusses glioma location and possible reasons http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1907421/
 
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  • #4
Pythagorean said:
Does a medical or statistics professional who understands all this jargon want to lay it out for me?
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928468012000788

The Odds ratio is exactly what it sounds like, what are the odds one modality can use cancer over i guess the control. The confidence interval tells you that as long as your odds ratio is within it, it is statistically significant or else they probably won't publish the result.

By the way the same people who believe in the cell phone cancer thing also believe wireless modems
 
  • #5
ThinkToday said:
I assume since most people are right handed, these are right side tumors?

I think right handed people mostly hold their cell phones in their LEFT hands to keep their right hand free for actually DOING something.
 
  • #6
The article you posted is the latest in a line: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22939605

A possible interpretation is given by http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22403263
"Based on relative risks of glioma by tumour latency and cumulative hours of phone use in the Swedish study, predicted rates should have been at least 40% higher than observed rates in 2008. However, predicted glioma rates based on the small proportion of highly exposed people in the Interphone study could be consistent with the observed data."

The full text of the latter article seems to be free.
 
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  • #7
phinds said:
I think right handed people mostly hold their cell phones in their LEFT hands to keep their right hand free for actually DOING something.

Not me. Mostly right hand. If I'm doing something, it sits on my desk in speaker mode.

That brings to mind a question. My kids both have "cell phones", and I say "cell phones" because they use them 95% of the time to "text" and when they are actually using a phone as a phone, it's on speaker. I wonder if the studies factor in cell phone use that is texting or on speaker (not up to the ear), e.g. my kids?
 
  • #8
ThinkToday said:
Not me. Mostly right hand. If I'm doing something, it sits on my desk in speaker mode.

That brings to mind a question. My kids both have "cell phones", and I say "cell phones" because they use them 95% of the time to "text" and when they are actually using a phone as a phone, it's on speaker. I wonder if the studies factor in cell phone use that is texting or on speaker (not up to the ear), e.g. my kids?
I've wondered this before, taking a look at most phone contracts (in the UK at least) the standard mix is for there to be a few hours of minutes and thousands of texts. Personally I tend to send anywhere between 5-20 texts on an average day but can go days without receiving or sending a call and most of the time those calls are for a couple of minutes.
 
  • #9
ThinkToday said:
The link wasn't usable for me. However, given the large general population use of wireless devices, I'm not sure how they identify cell phone induced tumor vs. any other. Here's another link to comparable article that seems consistent with yours http://www.cancermonthly.com/blog/2007/12/braincancer-cellphones.html [Broken] I assume since most people are right handed, these are right side tumors?

Here's another article that researches and discusses glioma location and possible reasons http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1907421/

The link wasn't usable for me either. The first link ThinkToday provided from Cancer Monthly seems to be the same study I looked at a few years ago judging by its date. As I recall there was large variability in the data from country to country and only when they combined the results from all the sources did there seem to be a trend. However, in researching gliomas, I discovered its incidence increases substantially with age. Since the hypothesis of their study was that the longer one uses a cell phone the more likely they were to contract a glioma, it would seem that those people who had used cell phones for more years would tend to be older than those who hadn't. The increased incidence with age was not mentioned in the study which makes me wonder if the study was adjusted for it.
 
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  • #10
Ryan_m_b said:
Personally I tend to send anywhere between 5-20 texts on an average day but can go days without receiving or sending a call and most of the time those calls are for a couple of minutes.

My 14 yo daughter averages about 12,000 a month.
 
  • #11
I try to use the speakerphone whenever a call will last more than a minute or two.
 
  • #12
but what difference does it make if your phone touches you face vs 1 feet away from you. The frequency of the wave doesn't change, the intensity does. But classically all the research in terms radiation and cancer have been done with varying frequencies of the waves. Either the wave penetrates you skin and skull and hits the brain or it doesnt. A change in distance can't make that much of difference.
 

1. What are cellphone tumors?

Cellphone tumors refer to the potential development of tumors or cancer in the brain or other parts of the body due to long-term exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by cellphones.

2. Is there scientific evidence to support the link between cellphones and tumors?

There have been numerous studies conducted on the potential health effects of cellphone use, including the risk of developing tumors. While some studies have suggested a possible link, the overall scientific consensus is that there is not enough evidence to definitively prove a causal relationship between cellphones and tumors.

3. How does cellphone RF radiation potentially cause tumors?

RF radiation can heat up the tissues in the body, and long-term exposure to this heat can potentially damage cells and lead to the development of tumors. However, the amount of RF radiation emitted by cellphones is relatively low and is not considered strong enough to cause significant heating of tissues.

4. Are there any precautions I can take to reduce the potential risk of tumors from cellphones?

While the evidence is inconclusive, it is always a good idea to take precautions when using cellphones. Some suggestions include using a hands-free device, keeping your cellphone away from your body when not in use, and limiting the duration and frequency of your cellphone use.

5. Should I stop using my cellphone altogether to avoid the risk of tumors?

The decision to use a cellphone ultimately depends on personal preference. While there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that cellphones cause tumors, it is always a good idea to take precautions and limit your exposure to RF radiation as much as possible.

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