Experts Still Arguing: Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer?

OK, so who do we believe -- the international panel of scientists who say cell phones are as dangerous to humans as carcinogens like DDT and dry cleaning fluids? Or the telecommunications industry, which says, hogwash?

An international team of 31 scientist from 14 countries released a report Tuesday implying that cell phones are potentially "carcinogenic to humans" and might pose an increased risk for developing a malignant form of brain cancer – glioma, according to InformationWeek Healthcare.

The international panel of experts reviewed dozens of published studies, determining that there is a possible link between a rare form of brain cancer, called glioma, and the use of hand-held cell phones, according to InformationWeek.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced its findings in a statement released in Lyons, France. The IARC is the cancer patrol team for the World Health Organization.

But the study is in stark contrast to one released in 2010 that said there is no link between cancer and cell phone usage.

In 2010, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) relieved users’ fears when it found there was not a consistent link between cell phone use and cancer. A large international study conducted by Interphone last year found that, overall, cell phone users have no increased risk for two of the most common types of brain tumors -- glioma and meningioma. For the small proportion of study participants who reported spending the most total time on cell phone calls, there was some increased risk of glioma, but the researchers considered this finding inconclusive.

What’s set off all the fuss is that the IARC designated cell phones as category “2B,” or “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” (Critics of the study point out the list also includes pickles). This particular category covers gas fumes and DDT but also includes arsenic, lead, ammonia and nicotine, according to InformationWeek, and is third, behind Group 1A (carcinogenic to humans) and 2A (probably carcinogenic), according to the IARC’s rating classifications.

Cell phone technology is rapidly advancing, yet one constant remains the same. Our hand-held devices that we have become so dependent upon operate by using microwave radiation. “Non-ionizing radiation” (extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields) is the term used in the IARC news release to describe the radio frequency associated with cell phones. Ionizing radiation is used by x-ray machines and has been proved to be harmful to humans in some circumstances, according to InformationWeek.

But even the possibility of a connection between chatting into a cell phone and cancer is cause for concern for most people. When the radiation that’s emitted from a cell phone hits biological tissue, it may actually cause cells, over time, to transform from normal cells into cancer cells, according to recent studies. But nothing conclusive has been proven yet. Stay tuned.

It's estimated that 5 billion cell phones are in use, and the number is growing among young adults and children, according to the IARC.