Does cell phone use lead to increased risk of brain cancer?
A. The short answer is no, according to Thomas Chen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurological surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Cell phones do not emit ionizing radiation, which is the type that damages DNA,” says Chen. Instead, they operate with radiofrequencies, a form of electromagnetic energy located on the electromagnetic spectrum between FM radio waves. However, Chen says that while all the major case control studies performed have not found any increased risk between cell phone usage and the development of brain tumors, long term use has not been studied. Whether there is an increased risk over periods greater than 10 years is not known. But Chen stresses that with most cell phone companies moving away from analog technology and on to digital, the likelihood of health-related danger is less. “The good news is that with the switch to digital technology, the energy emitted per cell phone is less than with analog cell phones,” says Chen.
