Scientists conclude the review does not assure wireless safety, and should not be used to set public health policy
SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 15, 2025 / A Letter to the Editor published in the journal Environment International by the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) concludes that a recently published systematic review and meta-analysis on cell phone radiofrequency radiation (RFR) and cancer risk by Karipidis et al. (2024)is scientifically flawed and does not provide a reliable assessment of the evidence on brain cancer risk associated with the use of cell phones and other wireless technologies. The ICBE-EMF are experts in researching the health effects of RFR from wireless devices and infrastructure including cell phones, Wi-Fi and cell towers.
ICBE-EMF's scientific leadership points to numerous significant flaws in the review that combine to understate the cancer risk from wireless exposure and undermine the validity of the study's conclusions, raising serious concerns about its impact on public health policy.
"Cell phone and wireless safety is not assured. Conclusions of 'no cell phone cancer risk' in the Karipidis et al. paper is a misleading representation of the science because credible scientific evidence from case-control studies suggests increased cancer risk from cell phone radiation," stated ICBE-EMF. Seven meta-analyses published since 2016 have reported significant links between cumulative and long-term cellphone use and brain tumor risk including a 2024 review which highlighted the same methodological flaws that ICBE-EMF identified.
"The review failed to follow widely-used scientific guidance for meta-analysis reviews," stated John Frank MD, a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, and ICBE-EMF member.
"The public cannot be assured that cell phones and wireless radiation are safe based upon such a flawed review." said Joel Moskowitz, PhD, Director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, also an ICBE-EMF member.
The key weaknesses include:
The authors' excessive reliance on simplistic categories such as "ever" versus "never" or "time since start of use," which do not reflect a person's actual exposure.
The conclusion relied largely on cohort studies that were subject to serious exposure misclassification and considered uninformative regarding cancer risks during the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation.
Studies cited to support the conclusion do not capture unique exposure characteristics of groups with increased brain cancer risk, such as higher incidence in the temporal lobe and on the side of the head where the person held the cell phone.
Sweeping conclusions of no cell phone cancer risk are not scientifically justified as the reviewed studies did not follow people for sufficient duration to diagnose late- developing cancers. The IARC states"experience with human cancer indicates that the period from first exposure to the development of clinical cancer is sometimes longer than 20 years; therefore, latent periods substantially shorter than 30 years cannot provide evidence for lack of carcinogenicity." Furthermore, combined analysis for tumor types, acoustic neuroma and glioma, strongly suggests increasing risk after moderate to long latencies.
It is not scientifically acceptable to draw conclusions from analyses which combine disparate study designs.
The ICBE-EMF also released a response to the Karipidis rebuttal to these criticisms stating, "the response failed to adequately respond to the issues and included numerous incorrect and misleading statements." Full details, a factsheet and video presentations are available at the ICBE-EMF website.
ICBE-EMF continues to strongly recommend reducing public exposure to RFR from cell phones, cellular antennas and other wireless sources such as Wi-Fi. These recommendations are especially important during pregnancy and childhood, and for individuals who are medically vulnerable or electromagnetically sensitive.
About the ICBE-EMF
ICBE-EMF is an international consortium of scientists, doctors and researchers with expertise and peer-reviewed publications on the biological and health effects of electromagnetic fields including RFR. The Commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of scientific research and makes science-based recommendations to ensure the protection of the public and environment.
Contact:
Joel Moskowitz PhD
jmm@berkeley.edu
SOURCE: International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields
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