Mobile phones off the hook for causing cancer

[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

Mobile phones off the hook for causing cancer
By Thuria Ghaleb
Dec 25, 2006,

A new scientific study confirms have no link between cell phone use and brain cancer.
Mobile phones have long been rumored to cause brain cancer in people who spend a lot of time gabbing on them. The antennas of such phones emit electromagnetic fields that can penetrate the human brain, which some scientists have suspected triggered changes in healthy cells that lead to cancer.

But those fears are unfounded, suggests the latest research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A major new study conducted by Danish researchers found no link between cell phone use and brain cancer. Researchers at the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen followed more than 420,000 mobile phone users, more than 56,000 of whom had been using a mobile phone for at least 10 years. Some people had been using mobile phones from as far back as 1982.

The study found no evidence that long- or short-term mobile phone use is linked to an increased risk of tumors in the head or neck as had been feared. This research confirms earlier studies that also found no link between cell phone use and cancer. A study done by the Institute of Cancer Research and published in the British Journal of Cancer found no increase of brain tumors in cell phone users. “For a long time, news has been popping up suggesting that cell phones infect people with brain cancer, creating fear in phone users,” said Mohammed Derhem, a specialist in tumors in the National Oncology Center.

“Then, such news suddenly disappears. I don’t know if this is always as a result of new studies disproving the old ones, or pressure from companies that create phones to hide such studies.” There is some anecdotal evidence that people who use cell phones for long periods may suffer from headaches, pain, memory weakness, sleeplessness, and a buzzing in the ears, said Ahmed al-Mansour, a mobile engineer. “But the strange thing is that there are these recent studies which show no connection between using mobiles and brain cancer.”

Most doctors advise parents not to let their children use mobile phones for long periods, because their brains are still growing, and because the long-term consequences of mobile phone use are not known. According to the World Health Organization, there are about 400,000,000 cellular phones in the world. This number will soon increase to 1,000,000,000.

Like all other parts of the body, the brain and central nervous system are made up of cells that ordinarily grow and divide to create new cells as needed. This is usually an orderly process; but when cells lose their ability to grow normally or to die off naturally, they divide too often and produce tumors that are made up of these extra cells. So a brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. Unlike other tumors, brain tumors rarely spread outside the brain.

Brain and spinal cord tumors generally develop slowly and worsen over time unless they are treated. Tumors can be benign (noncancerous and unlikely to spread) or malignant (cancerous and likely to spread), and are classified by the tissue in which they begin. “Whether benign or malignant, all brain tumors are serious, because a growing tumor eventually will compress and damage other structures in the brain,” said Derhem. A brain tumor can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from headache to stroke, because it can directly damage the nerves in the brain or central nervous system.


Many Yemeni mobiles users have different mobile phones from the three service provides in the country.
Its signs and symptoms depend on its size, location and rate of growth. They may be also subtle for a long time, making an early diagnosis difficult. Headache is probably the most common symptom of a brain tumor. Headaches caused by brain tumors may vary depending on the location. They may gradually become more frequent and more severe. They also accompanied by double vision, weakness, or numbness. Sometimes, unexpected visual disturbance, including vision loss in one or both eyes, or double vision happens. Nausea and vomiting, in fact, often occur in children with brain tumors and in all people with brain stem cell tumors.

Gradual loss of sensation or movement in an arm or a leg, poor balance or coordination, problems with speech and reasoning, hearing loss with or without dizziness and memory loss are other severe symptoms caused by brain tumors. Seizures, especially in someone who doesn’t have a history of seizures — as with epilepsy— is another serious problem. The patient may face some other less severe symptoms that still badly affect his health, such as hormonal disorders, increased sleep, sickness, drowsiness, changes in personality or behavior and difficulty understanding what is said to you. Tumors may occur at any age, but brain tumors are most common in children between the ages of 3 and 12, and in adults aged 55 to 65.

Primary brain cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death between birth and the age of 34, and the fourth most common cause of cancer death in men aged 35-54. The most recent statistics from the World Health Organization have indicated that cancer is decreasing in developed countries, and increasing in developing ones. “The rate of cancer in the developing countries is very terrible,” said Derhem. “The cases may amount to about 100 cases per each 100,000 persons.”

Early treatment improves the chance of a good outcome for many tumors. The treatment approach varies with the size, type and position of the tumor. It also depends on the patient’s general health, age and current medical status. Results of diagnostic tests and the wishes of the patient and his family are other important things for the treatment. Surgery is necessary for most brain tumors. Some may be completely removed. Tumors that are deep or that infiltrate brain tissue may be reduced in size and mass rather than removed.

Here, surgery may still help reduce pressure and relieve symptoms. Radiation therapy may be advised for tumors that are sensitive to radiation. Anticancer medications (chemotherapy) may be recommended. The best way to prevent secondary brain tumors is to eliminate risk factors such as poor nutrition and a low-fiber diet, smoking, excessive use of alcohol, and excessive exposure to the sun. “Generally, Yemeni people need to nutritionally balanced food,” said Derhem. “We practice a lot of bad habits in our food. We, Yemeni people, like eating burned food. Our food needs to be rich in vegetables and fruit.”
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