Radiofrequency Exposure Does Not Increase Neoplastic Disease Risk

Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields does not appear to increase the risk for neoplastic disease, according to study results published in Environment International.

Investigators conducted a systematic review of human observational studies to evaluate the quality and strength of evidence for a causal association between radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure and risk for neoplastic diseases. Cohort and case-control studies of neoplasia risks in relation to the 3 following types of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields were identified in databases and included in the review:

• Near-field, head-localized, exposure from wireless phone use;
• Far-field, whole body, environmental exposure from fixed-site transmitters; and,
• Near/far-field occupational exposures from use of hand-held transceivers or radiofrequency-emitting equipment in the workplace.

Tumor types of interest included neoplasms of the central nervous system (ie, brain, meninges, pituitary gland, acoustic nerve) and salivary gland tumors, as well as brain tumors and leukemias. Random effects restricted maximum likelihood models and weighted mixed-effect models were used to synthesize the study results.

A total of 63 studies published between 1994 and 2022 with participants from 22 countries reporting on 119 exposure sources were included in the review. Included studies had low and moderate risk for bias risk.

Ever or regular use vs no or nonregular use of mobile phones was not associated with an increased risk for the following:

• Glioma (meta-estimate of the relative risk [mRR], 1.01; 95% CI, 0.89-1.13);
• Meningioma (mRR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.82-1.02);
• Acoustic neuroma (mRR, 1.03, 95% CI, 0.85-1.24);
• Pituitary tumors (mRR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.61-1.06);
• Salivary gland tumors (mRR, 0.91; 95% CI,0.78-1.06); and,
• Pediatric brain tumors (mRR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.74-1.51).

No observable increase in mRRs was found for glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma with increasing time since start use of mobile phones, cumulative call time, or cumulative number of calls.

Cordless phone use was also not significantly associated with risks for the following:

• Glioma (mRR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.74-1.46);
• Meningioma (mRR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.70-1.18); and,
• Acoustic neuroma (mRR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.83-1.61).

No increased risk for childhood leukemia or pediatric brain tumor was associated with fixed-site transmitters, independent of the level of modeled radiofrequency exposure.

Risk for glioma was not significantly increased following exposure to occupational radiofrequency (ever vs never) and no differences were observed between increasing categories of modelled cumulative exposure levels.

Study limitations include the inability to review analyses of tumor side in relation to mobile phone use, missing data, misclassification, and uncontrolled confounding, as well as possible selection, recall, publication, and information bias.

“The evidence rating regarding pediatric brain tumors in relation to environmental RF [radiofrequency] exposure from fixed-site transmitters should be interpreted with caution, due to the small number of studies,” the study authors concluded.