A large-scale study supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) has disproved the widespread belief that mobile phone radio waves are carcinogenic.
Researchers analyzed more than 5,000 studies published between 1994 and 2022. They selected 63 studies that included participants from 22 countries. The results showed no link between mobile phone use and the development of brain cancer, even with prolonged use of the devices for more than ten years.
The study disproved the assumption that the number of calls or the duration of conversations influences the onset of cancer. In addition, the researchers found no connection with other types of head and neck cancer.
Earlier, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified radio waves as «possibly carcinogenic» This category includes also include aloe vera, coffee, and working as a firefighter — more than 1,000 different factors in total.
Ken Karipidis, lead author of the study and deputy director of health impact assessment at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA), commented on the results:
«This systematic review of observational studies is based on a much larger dataset than the one reviewed by the IARC. It includes newer and more comprehensive studies, so we can more confidently conclude that exposure to radio waves from wireless technologies does not pose a risk to human health».
The research team led by Karipidis continues to investigate the possible link between cell phone use and other cancers, including leukemia.
The results of the study were published in the Environmental International magazine.