Ipsilateral Brain Tumor and Cell Phone Use
Findings from two studies that investigated the health of individuals following 10 years of cell phone use revealed some harmful effects of RF on the ipsilateal side (same side as the cell phone is held). Dr. L. Hardell of the University Hospital of Sweden and the study team interviewed persons with recent brain tumors. One question was, "Which side of the head is the mobile phone used?" During this time, Dr. Hardell oversaw several smaller studies on the question being conducted throughout Europe. He noted a consistent pattern of an increased risk for acoustic neuroma (benign tumors growing near auditory and vestibular portions of nerve VIII, but can grow and cause contact with the brain stem) and glioma (a malignant brain tumor) following 10 years of cell phone use. The mega-analysis yielded an odds ratio of l.9 and a 95% confidence interval for ipsilateral exposure, whereas contralateral exposure still produced an increased risk, but it was insignificant (Hardell et al., 2009).
Dr. Khurana of Australia also found evidence of brain tumors with cell phone use. The study concluded that using a cell phone for more than l0 years doubled the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same side of the head as used for the cell phone. Data were gathered from the Interphone group studies, which included research from Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland from 1995 to 2004. Though cell phones have decreased in size, their SAR remains essentially the same. Therefore, conclusions from this study state that in the absence of timely interventions and given the increased use of wireless technology globally, especially among the younger generation, it is likely that the incidence of primary brain tumors will increase (Khurana, Teo, Kundi, Hardell, & Carlberg, 2009).