Study Reveals The Real Connection Between Cancer And Cellphone Use

The use of cellular phones is getting more and more common as time pass. But, people should also be aware that excessive use of cellphones may have a certain effect on one's health. According to a study, researchers have found a connection between cellphone radiation and heart tumors in rats.

Finding out about the result of the study may cause some to worry knowing that suspicions have not been given attention by mainstream experts for years. Business Insider reported that the National Toxicology Program which is an interagency government group and part of the National Institutes of Health released a report on the result of exposing rats and mice to cellphone radiation for over 2 years.

The study was done by the National Toxicology Program headed by John Bucher who is also the associate director. He told reporters in a telephone briefing that he believes he is not a heavy user, so he won't be changing any of his cellphone habits. "I use a cellphone next to my head or with earbuds, depending on what I am doing."

The rats in the study were found to have high levels of cellphone signal, mostly over the legal limits set by the Federal Communications Commission for mobile phones. These rats were exposed for nine hours a day, every day from the time they were still in their mothers' wombs until they died two years later.

"All these animals were exposed at levels that were heavy," Bucher said. That's standard in rat trials, so that researchers can have a better chance of getting an effect. So there is no telling whether that translates to people.

A report by NBC News said that the $25 million study discovered that more of the male rats that were exposed to the radiation developed specific kinds of cancer than the control group that wasn't exposed to the cellphone radiation. However, the study has limitations because obviously, it was done in rats and mice and not humans.

But there are still a few things to keep in mind when considering the new study and what your cellphone habits imply.

Cellular phones emit a type of radiation known as nonionizing radiofrequency radiation which is far different from ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen. However, both types can be absorbed by the body, but the nonionizing kind can't cause the DNA damage which can ultimately lead to the development of cancer. But the study believes that there might be another factor at play when the study was done with rats.

The study also revealed that male rats that were exposed had higher incidences of heart and brain tumors that the rats belonging to the control group. However, that result was not true in female rats. Also, rats belonging to the control group did not have any incidences of heart or brain cancer.

In pregnant rats, the researchers didn't find any exposure effects on their litter size or the sex of the offspring. But there were some small changes in weights for both the mothers and the babies that were exposed to the radiation.

Previous research was not successful in showing a conclusive impact of cellphone radiation on cancer in people. In a statement released earlier this week, the NIH said, "It is important to note that previous human, observational data collected in earlier, large-scale population-based studies have found limited evidence of an increased risk for developing cancer from cellphone use."

The Federal Communications Commission, the monitoring body of radiofrequency exposure from cellphones and set limits on it, said that it knew about the report, adding: "Scientific evidence always informs FCC rules on this matter. We will continue to follow all recommendations from federal health and safety experts including whether the FCC should modify its current policies and RF exposure limits."