Cell phone & brain tumour: Time to hit panic button?

TOUGH CALL: While some studies suggest a link between brain tumour and prolonged use of mobiles, others find the opposite.

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Keywords: Cancer, Brain Tumour

New Delhi: A latest joint study by US and Danish researchers have linked behavioural problems in children to the use of cell phones. Here's a look at the contrasting studies done over the last 5 years.

A study conducted in Sweden in 2006 suggested a link between brain tumour and prolonged use of mobiles.

Researchers examined over 2,000 cancer patients and an equal number of healthy persons using cell phones for 10 years. Mobile users recorded a 240 per cent increased risk of developing brain cancer as opposed to non-users.

In 2002, a major study conducted by researchers in Finland found that exposing brain cells to one hour of mobile phone radiation triggers a response which normally only occurs when cells are damaged.

And more recently, studies conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University have also tended to agree that intensive cell phone use, especially by young people, can lead to cancer.

Finally the latest study by Dr Vini Khurana, an Australian researcher, reveals that using cellphones for more than 10 years can double the risk of brain cancer.

But these findings fly in the face of others, which came to the opposite conclusion.

A study conducted by four British Universities in 2006 concluded that there was no cause-and-effect relation between the cell phone use and brain tumours. The study involved over 3000 participants using cell phone for the past 10 years.

The same year a Danish study looked at over four lakh cell phone subscribers using mobiles since 1982 and found no direct link between tumour risk and mobile phone usage.

Finally a Japanese study this year compared phone use in 300 brain cancer patients with 700 healthy people and found that regular use did not significantly affect the likelihood of getting brain cancer.

So where does that leave the ever increasing network of mobile users? Until the picture gets clearer judicious use of the mobile seems to be the best option.