Just a few minutes a day on a mobile phone 'raises cancer risk'
MOBILE phones can cause cancer and using one for just 17 minutes a day dramatically increases the risk, according to new research.
Chatting for as little as eight hours a month causes higher oxidative stress (PIC POSED BY MODEL)
Heavy users have higher oxidative stress in their bodies. This is the harmful process that damages all aspects of a human cell including DNA and is a major risk factor for cancer.
Mobiles are currently classed as “potentially carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Scientists have long been concerned about the possible harmful effects of regular mobile phone use. But no studies have produced clear results.
Now, a new analysis of the saliva of mobile users reveals chatting for as little as eight hours a month causes higher oxidative stress.
The researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel hypothesised that saliva content could reveal whether there was a connection to developing cancer because a mobile phone is placed close to the saliva gland when in use.
They examined saliva content of 20 heavy phone users, who spoke on their phones for at least eight hours a month – although most used them for 30 to 40 hours a month.
The participants’ saliva content was compared to deaf patients who either do not use a mobile phone at all or use them for non-verbal activity like sending texts.
Despite this research, brain tumour rates have remained unchanged for years
Results showed that the heavy mobile phone users had significantly greater saliva oxidative stress.
Lead author Dr Yaniv Hamzany said: “This suggests that there is considerable oxidative stress on the tissue and glands which are close to the cell phone when in use.
“The damage caused by oxidative stress is linked to cellular and genetic mutations which cause the development of tumours.”
The researchers say the results reflect long-standing concerns about the impact of mobile phone use.
Although the study, published in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signalling, does not uncover a conclusive “cause and effect” relationship between mobile phones and cancer, it adds to growing evidence that phones may be harmful in the long term.
One potential avenue of future research would be to analyse a person’s saliva before exposure to a mobile phone, and then again after several intense minutes of exposure.
The researchers say this will allow them to see if there is an immediate response – such as a rise in molecules that indicate oxidative stress.
Henry Scowcroft, the science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Brain tumour rates have been more or less unchanged for decades, and this, coupled with the results of large studies, suggests that mobile phones do not increase the risk of developing them.
The damage caused by oxidative stress is linked to cellular and genetic mutations which cause the development of tumours
Dr Yaniv Hamzany
“This is a very small study looking at chemical differences in the saliva between just 20 mobile phone users and a similar group of non-users, almost all of whom had hereditary deafness. It did not measure cancer rates.
“So it is impossible to draw firm conclusions from this study – and when set against the overwhelming body of evidence from larger studies, does not alter the conclusion that mobile phones are unlikely to increase the risk of brain tumours or other cancers.”
A spokesman for the Mobile Operators Association, said: “The researchers of this study admit that the controls for this experiment, who were deaf, could significantly affect the results because of their physiological differences with hearing subjects.
“Research into the possible health effects of mobile phones has been going on for two decades. To date, no adverse health effects have been established.”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/418714/Just-a-few-minutes-a-day-on-a-mobile-phone-raises-cancer-risk
Just a few minutes a day on a mobile phone 'raises cancer risk'
MOBILE phones can cause cancer and using one for just 17 minutes a day dramatically increases the risk, according to new research.
Chatting for as little as eight hours a month causes higher oxidative stress (PIC POSED BY MODEL)
Heavy users have higher oxidative stress in their bodies. This is the harmful process that damages all aspects of a human cell including DNA and is a major risk factor for cancer.
Mobiles are currently classed as “potentially carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Scientists have long been concerned about the possible harmful effects of regular mobile phone use. But no studies have produced clear results.
Now, a new analysis of the saliva of mobile users reveals chatting for as little as eight hours a month causes higher oxidative stress.
The researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel hypothesised that saliva content could reveal whether there was a connection to developing cancer because a mobile phone is placed close to the saliva gland when in use.
They examined saliva content of 20 heavy phone users, who spoke on their phones for at least eight hours a month – although most used them for 30 to 40 hours a month.
The participants’ saliva content was compared to deaf patients who either do not use a mobile phone at all or use them for non-verbal activity like sending texts.
Despite this research, brain tumour rates have remained unchanged for years
Results showed that the heavy mobile phone users had significantly greater saliva oxidative stress.
Lead author Dr Yaniv Hamzany said: “This suggests that there is considerable oxidative stress on the tissue and glands which are close to the cell phone when in use.
“The damage caused by oxidative stress is linked to cellular and genetic mutations which cause the development of tumours.”
The researchers say the results reflect long-standing concerns about the impact of mobile phone use.
Although the study, published in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signalling, does not uncover a conclusive “cause and effect” relationship between mobile phones and cancer, it adds to growing evidence that phones may be harmful in the long term.
One potential avenue of future research would be to analyse a person’s saliva before exposure to a mobile phone, and then again after several intense minutes of exposure.
The researchers say this will allow them to see if there is an immediate response – such as a rise in molecules that indicate oxidative stress.
Henry Scowcroft, the science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Brain tumour rates have been more or less unchanged for decades, and this, coupled with the results of large studies, suggests that mobile phones do not increase the risk of developing them.
The damage caused by oxidative stress is linked to cellular and genetic mutations which cause the development of tumoursDr Yaniv Hamzany
“This is a very small study looking at chemical differences in the saliva between just 20 mobile phone users and a similar group of non-users, almost all of whom had hereditary deafness. It did not measure cancer rates.
“So it is impossible to draw firm conclusions from this study – and when set against the overwhelming body of evidence from larger studies, does not alter the conclusion that mobile phones are unlikely to increase the risk of brain tumours or other cancers.”
A spokesman for the Mobile Operators Association, said: “The researchers of this study admit that the controls for this experiment, who were deaf, could significantly affect the results because of their physiological differences with hearing subjects.
“Research into the possible health effects of mobile phones has been going on for two decades. To date, no adverse health effects have been established.”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/418714/Just-a-few-minutes-a-day-on-a-mobile-phone-raises-cancer-risk
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