Cell Phones and Brain Cancer: What Was The New York Times Thinking?
Recently the NYTimes published "Should You Be Snuggling With Your Cellphone?" in which it reported that the question of whether cell phones pose a risk of brain cancer is far from settled. Indeed, largely ignoring the overwhelming evidence that electromagnetic radiation does not increase the risk of brain cancer the article references an unidentified study showing an increased rate of brain cancer in the presumably cellphonophilic 20-29 year old age group, "400 scientific papers" that support the theory that radio waves cause "damaged brain DNA", and concludes with this quote by epidemiologist and author of the newly published "Disconnect" Devra Davis: "I do think I'm looking at an epidemic in slow motion".
Google serves up a link to Environmental Health Trust which has front and center handy links to a "press kit", and variety of write-ups including (1) that the best evidence does support a causal link; (2) a warning to women to keep cell phones away from their chests as the radio waves "seep directly into soft fatty tissue" and may cause breast cancer; (3) heavy cell phone use decreases sperm count by 50%; (4) that we should be horrified by the sight of young children using iPhones as they are frying their young brains; (5) a conspiracy by industry and lobbyists to obfuscate the facts and prevent urgently needed anti-cell phone legislation; and, (6) the inevitable lawsuit by someone with an unidentified form of brain cancer who claims cell phones are as addictive as cigarettes and just as deadly - the evidence that cell phones caused his cancer seems to be limited to the fact that he was athletic, a non-drinker / non-smoker who led "an over-the-top healthy lifestyle".
Well, increasing risk of brain cancer in young adults, "damaged brain DNA", a corporate conspiracy and a plaintiff who talked on his phone four hours per day 365 days per year, how is this NOT the start of a massive mass tort? Here's how.
Let's take that troubling trend of increasing brain cancer in 20 - 29 year olds. Open up this month's journal of Neuro-Oncology and you'll find "Brain Cancer Incidence Trends in Relation to Cellular Telephone Use in the United States". Yes, there's small increase in incidence for males but the increase began "before cell phone use was highly prevalent". Yes there was an increase for women in that age group too but it was limited to frontal lobe cancers and since I've never seen a woman use her cell phone by holding it to her forehead I have to wonder if the absence of any increased risk in brain cancers near the ears isn't the most important finding of this huge study. And in fact its authors conclude "these incidence data do not provide support to the view that cellular phone use causes brain cancer". See also: "Mobil Phone Base Stations and Early Childhood Cancers: Case-Control Study" which found "no association between risk of early childhood cancers and estimates of the mother's exposure to mobile phone base stations during pregnancy" and, of course, "Brain Tumour Risk in Relation to Mobile Telephone Use: Results of the INTERPHONE International Case-Control Study" which showed that most cell phone users were if anything at a decreased risk of cancer.
Damaged brain DNA (whatever that is)? "Analysis of Proteome Response to the Mobile Phone Radiation in Two Types of Human Primary Endothelial Cells".
And the claim of industry bias or outright conspiracy to silence the truth or co-opt scientists? Try "Studies of Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumor Risk Are Independent of Industry Influence".
Finally, brain cancer is always tragic, whether it strikes down a U.S. Senator or my next door neighbor at age 48; and their drinking, smoking and exercising status makes no difference as none are risk factors, positive or negative.
To this day the cause or causes of brain cancer remain unknown. All you can do is drink your coffee or tea and hope that one of life's deadly bolts out of the blue doesn't strike you.
