STAR TRIBUNE
Page A17
May 22, 1999
Research suggests link between cancer and cell phone use
From News Services
Preliminary results from research funded by the cellular telephone industry suggest that there may be a correlation between cell phone use and cancer, according to the director of the program. The study found possible connections in biological tests and statistical analysis of cell phone users.
The findings are at odds with many previous studies, which found no such link.
The data, while important, only suggest that more research is necessary, said George Carlo, chairman of the industry-funded Wireless Technology Research
(WTR) group. "We’re now in a gray area that we’ve never been in before with this. When we’re in a gray area, the best thing to do is let the public know about the finding so that they can make their own judgement ," he said.
But at a time when cell-phone use is exploding – roughly 70 million were in use in the United States as of December – the findings will enter the debate over whether the phones’ radio emissions can be harmful.
An official of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the safety of cell phones, said: "These results seem to have been done well – the question now is "OK, we’ve got a result. What do we do with it? How do we follow through?’" said Elizabeth Jacobson, deputy director of science at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Jacobson and other FDA officials have been briefed on the WTR results; Jacobson said that if a clear health threat emerged form the studies, she and the agency would move quickly to address the problem.
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association would not comment on the new research but has called for further studies
The research, conducted at Stanford University and Integrated Laboratory Systems in Research Triangle Park, N.C., put the cells through 46 tests for cancer-inducing genetic damage. Most produced the usual result in cell phone research: no sign of cancer-causing damage.
But one battery of eight tests known as a "micronucleus assay" on human blood cells did indicate chromosomal damage.
"At this point there is very little you can make of this finding," said Graham Hook, a program director at Integrated Laboratory Systems. "It’s difficult to interpret" and might be attributable to other factors. The real role of such tests, he said, "is to tell you what needs to be further tested".
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