最新研究：手机不增加脑肿瘤的可能性

Many people are fearful that the radio waves emitted by cell phones can cause brain cancer.

In a report released on December 3, 2009, the Danish Cancer Society did not find evidence that cell phone usage increases the rate of brain cancer. The study focused on about 60,000 brain cancer cases in four Scandinavian countries occurring between 1979 and 2003. Cell phone usage increased dramatically in the 5 years between 1998 and 2003, yet the rate of brain cancer incidence did not rise significantly during this period.

Cell phones emit radiofrequency (RF) waves. These radio waves are a type of non-ionizing, low-frequency radiation that scientists consider to be too weak to cause cancer or damage DNA. The Danish study tends to support this.

But clearly, further research is needed. Brain cancer can take years to develop. Lead researcher Isabelle Deltour, from the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology at the Danish Cancer Society in Copenhagen, says of the study, "Either it means that mobile phones don't cause brain tumors or it means that we don't see it yet…”

Another large study is being conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer with results expected in a few months. But because brain cancer can take so long to manifest, people should remain cautious about cell phone radiation exposure.

Melissa Bondy of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston says, “People who remain concerned about cell phones can almost completely eliminate their exposure to these radio waves by using headphones, speaker phones or Bluetooth headsets. Let's be precautionary, especially in children, because their brains are still developing.”