Researchers for the World Health Organization found no conclusive link between cell phone use and cancer, even after preliminary reports suggested otherwise.
The WHO's study tracked 12,800 cell phone users across 13 countries for 10 years. It was the largest study to date on the risks of increased cell phone use, and its results were inconclusive, Reuters reports. The WHO isn't ruling out a cell phone-cancer link, but says more research is needed.
"We can't just conclude that there is no effect," said the study's head, Elisabeth Cardis of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona.
Last October, the Telegraph reported on early findings from the study, suggesting a link between cell phone use and certain kinds of brain tumors. However, it's not clear whether that was the newspaper's conclusion or the WHO's, as the report acknowledges that difficulties in test subjects' memories could have led to unreliable results. The Telegraph also noted that the study's findings were being delayed as scientists debated how to present their conclusions.
In any case, the WHO's study echoes one conducted in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. That study didn't track individual cell phone users, but looked at cases of glioma or meningioma brain cancer between 1974 and 2003, finding no uptick in the number of diagnoses.
Both studies note that with cell phone use on the rise, more research is needed. One study is underway in Europe, and it corrects the WHO study's mistakes by tracking cell phone use in real time for a quarter of a million people. Results will be gathered for 30 years.
Until then, you can invest in a Bluetooth headset or a cell phone skin designed to deflect radiation away from the head. But as I've said before, I'll die from a heart attack before I start walking around with a dongle in my ear full-time.
