Toasted brain!

Many rumors exist regarding electrical devices radiation and their association with tumor initiation. This is especially enhanced when it has to do with cell phones and a possible link of their excessive use with brain tumor appearance.  People seem to be worried about this matter for a long time now and this is the main reason I decided to shed some light on the problem.

For starters many electrical devices we everyday use emit a certain amount of radiation but most of them in a safe low level. Television and computer screens emit extremely low frequencies (ELF) of radiation not enough to cause any damage. The same applies for radio stations which use radiofrequency radiation. Another electrical device which gave a headache to the public is microwaves. They actually don’t emit enough energy to damage DNA not even to cause severe burns, therefore, they are not considered capable to cause cancer. Radars use the same kind of radiation as microwaves and it is recommended that some precaution measurements should be taken from the groups of people like police officers who usually use them.

But let’s talk more specifically about cell phones. They work by sending signals to cell towers using radiofrequency (RF) which is a non – ionizing radiation. This kind of radiation doesn’t cause cancer or DNA damage because it does not possess the necessary energy needed to do so. Nevertheless, RF waves are able to heat up body tissues but not in the amount that is emitted from cell phones which is in much lower levels. The amount of RF energy absorbed from the phone to the body of the user is called specific absorption rate or SAR and it varies among different cell phones. Every country establishes an upper level of SAR allowed and companies are obligated to provide the SAR levels of their devices to get approval before start selling them. The main concern is caused because cell phones are held very close to the head area. Even though it seems that RF are not able to cause cancer there is the possibility to promote the development of an, already, existing cancer caused by other carcinogens.

Certain types of cancer are the ones under examination for links with cell phone use. Those are:

• Malignant brain tumors (gliomas)
• Non-cancerous tumors (meningiomas)
• Non-cancerous tumors of the nerve connecting the brain to the ear (acoustic neuromas)
• Non-cancerous tumors of the salivary glands

Studies have been conducted regarding this major issue and their conclusions are that brain tumor patients don’t use their cell phone more than control groups. There is no indication of a certain level of radiation considered to be the minimum required to causebrain tumors. This would be the case if cell phones caused cancer. There is no link between the appearance of the tumors and the side of the head in which the phone is held.It is worth mentioning that a few studies have found possible links like, for example, a certain research team from Sweden but their results haven’t been verified by other research groups and there is a rising recorded in Sweden about brain tumors. Two of the biggest studies ever conducted were the INTERPHONE study which used 5.000 patients and a similar in numbers control group and the Danish cohort study with a sample of 400.000 people. Both of them found no link between tumor risk and frequent phone use but they have limitations such as the fact that the research was based in the memory of the people and other factors which may affected the tumor appearance are not taken under consideration.

In general, there are limitations as far as it has to do with the studies conducted until now. Despite that no links have been established to connect the appearance of brain tumors with the use of cell phones. Probably, there is none but in every case it would be good if some measures would be taken just for extra safety. A possible first tip people should follow is to use the speaker mode or a hands’ free device to remove the antenna away from their face which emits the most of the RF waves. Texting instead of calling whenever possible would be another good suggestion along with of course the obvious advice which is limiting phone use. Following these simple tips should be enough to enjoy the use of your favorite devices without any worries.