Does cell phone use increase the risk for brain cancer? Discussion of safety, danger and cautions

Using a cell phone for more than a decade can increase the risk of some brain cancers. Dr. Lennart Hardell of University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden and colleagues reviewed data from prior studies and now believe that cell phone use can cause brain cancer, with the greatest risk seen on the side of the head where the mobile phone is held. The types of brain cancer that they noticed were acoustic neuromas and gliomas. Acoustic neuromas are benign growths on the nerve linking the ear to the brain, while gliomas are malignant tumors of the brain and nervous system.
   Dr. Lennart Hardell and his group identified 18 studies of brain tumor risk among long-term cell phone users, 11 of which provided data for 10 years or longer. When the findings were analyzed collectively, the researchers found people who used cell phones for at least a decade had atwo fold greater risk of acoustic neuromas and gliomas. Occupational Environmental Medicine, September 2007.
   Comments: Since the use of cell phones is almost unavoidable in our modern society, users may wish to minimize the time they talk on a cell phone. Perhaps changing sides could help reduce the exposure to the same part of the brain?

Mechanism of cancer formation
Cell phones could boost brain tumor risk by exposing the brain to electromagnetic energy. Research in the past was not long enough to determine cause and effect relationship, but an evaluation of more than a decade of research is making it more likely that there is a relationship.

Acoustic neuroma association
Cell phone use and acoustic neuroma: the need for standardized questionnaires and access to industry data.
Surg Neurol. 2009 Sep; Han YY, Kano H, Davis DL, Niranjan A, Lunsford LD. Center for Environmental Oncology-University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
The capacity of radiofrequency from cell phones to be absorbed into the brain has prompted concerns that regular cell phone use may increase the risk of acoustic neuroma (AN) and other brain tumors. This article critically evaluates current literature on cell phone use and AN risks and proposes additional studies to clarify any possible linkage. Through a PubMed search, we identified and reviewed 10 case-control studies and 1 cohort study of AN risks associated with cell phone use and a meta-analysis of long-term mobile phone use and its association with AN and other brain tumors. Most studies did not find association between the development of AN and cell phone use, but some studies that followed cases for 10 years or more did show an association. Cell phone use was not associated with increased risk for AN in the Danish cohort study, which excluded business users from their study. The meta-analysis, which included 3 case-control studies, found that subjects who used cell phones for at least 10 years had a 2.4-fold greater risk of developing ipsilateral AN. In general, retrospective studies are limited in the ability to assess cell phone exposure because of recall bias and misclassification. The evaluation of AN risk factors is challenging due to its long latency. Some studies of longer term cell phone use have found an increased risk of ipsilateral acoustic neuroma. Adopting a prospective approach to acquire data on cell phone use, obtaining retrospective billing records that provide independent evaluations of exposures, and incorporating information on other key potential risk factors from questionnaires could markedly advance the capacity of studies to evaluate the impact of cell phones on acoustic neuroma.

Distribution of cell phone radio frequencies in human brain
Distribution of RF energy emitted by mobile phones in anatomical structures of the brain.
Phys Med Biol. 2008 June. Radiation Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert Thomas, Lyon 69372, France.
The rapid worldwide increase in mobile phone use in the last decade has generated considerable interest in possible cell phone brain cancer causing effects of radio frequency. Because exposure to radio frequency from phones is localized, if a risk exists it is likely to be greatest for tumors in regions with greatest energy absorption. The objective of the current paper was to characterize the spatial distribution of RF energy in the brain, using results of measurements made in two laboratories on 110 phones used in Europe or Japan. Most (97-99% depending on frequency) appears to be absorbed in the brain hemisphere on the side where the phone is used, mainly (50-60%) in the temporal lobe. The average relative SAR is highest in the temporal lobe (6-15%, depending on frequency, of the spatial peak SAR in the most exposed region of the brain) and the cerebellum (2-10%) and decreases very rapidly with increasing depth, particularly at higher frequencies. The SAR distribution appears to be fairly similar across cell phone models, between older and newer phones and between phones with different antenna types and positions.

Questions
Are there any herbal products that could reduce the risk for any potential damage from cell phone use?
    We are not sure at this time.

Would the use of an anti cancer agent such as AHCC reduce the risk for brain cancer?
    We are not aware of such studies.