14/10/2004 - Handset use increases cancer risk

Mobile phones may present a cancer risk after all. Epidemiologists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm have found that the phones can increase the incidence of acoustic neuromas, benign tumors of the auditory nerve. The nerve is exposed to radiation during the normal use of a cell phone.

Layman's Summary

Those who used mobile phones for at least ten years, had close to four times the risk of developing acoustic neuromas on the same side of the head as the phone was used, according to a team led by Dr. Maria Feychting and Prof. Anders Ahlbom of the Karolinska's Institute of Environmental Medicine. Ahlbom is the deputy director of institute.

Related Articles

» BBC News Online's coverage of the story
» Microwave News' article on the study