Dr. Siegal Sadetzki

MONDAY FEB 18, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Using a mobile phone or cell phone may increase risk of cancer in the salivary gland, a new study suggests.

The study, not a trial in nature, compared 500 Israeli who had developed benign and malignant salivary gland tumors with 1,300 healthy controls for their use of mobile phone.

Those who had used a mobile phone for several hours a day were 50 percent more likely to have developed a salivary gland tumor or cancer, the study showed.

The study was conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous studies on mobile phone use and risk of cancer, in most cases, brain tumors, resulted in inconsistent conclusions, depending upon the study duration, the researchers and the organization that sponsored the study.

Long term studies tended to find an association between mobile phone use and cancer while short-term studies more likely resulted in no association between the two.

Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, lead author of the study, said "Israeli were quicker to adopt cell phone technology and have continued to be exceptionally heavy users," suggesting it was easier for them to look into the long term, cumulative effect of this modern communication on the risk of cancer.

For the study, subjects were surveyed for their mobile phone use patterns in terms of the frequency, the length of calls they made.

One significant finding is that heavy users in rural areas had an even higher risk of the salivary gland cancer than those in cities.

The researchers explained that mobile phones in rural areas needed to emit more radiofrequency radiation to work properly.

Sadetzki cautioned preventative measures needed to be taken to in order to diminish the exposure and lower the risk for cancer.

Dr. Sadetzki predicted that over time, the greatest cancer-causing effects will be found in heavy users and children.  Use of mobile phones in terms of the frequency and duration of phone calls should be restricted, she suggested.

© 2004-2008 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified

Top of Page