The possible role of radiofrequency radiation in the development of uveal melanoma.
Stang A, Anastassiou G, Ahrens W, Bromen K, Bornfeld N, Jockel KH · 2001
View Original AbstractMobile phone users showed 4 times higher odds of developing rare eye cancer in this groundbreaking German study.
Plain English Summary
German researchers studied 118 people with uveal melanoma (a rare eye cancer) and 475 healthy controls to examine whether radiofrequency radiation exposure increases cancer risk. They found that people with probable mobile phone exposure had over 4 times higher odds of developing this eye cancer, while exposure to radio equipment tripled the risk. This was the first study to link radiofrequency radiation to this specific type of eye tumor.
Why This Matters
This study breaks important ground by identifying a potential link between radiofrequency radiation and uveal melanoma, a rare but serious eye cancer that affects the iris, ciliary body, or choroid. What makes these findings particularly noteworthy is the specificity of the association. While other electromagnetic sources like power lines and radar showed no connection, radiofrequency devices - particularly mobile phones - demonstrated a clear statistical relationship with increased cancer risk. The 4.2-fold increase in odds for probable mobile phone users represents a substantial elevation in risk that cannot be easily dismissed. However, the researchers themselves acknowledge methodological limitations that prevent definitive conclusions. The study's small sample size and the challenges of accurately assessing historical RF exposure levels mean we need additional research to confirm these findings. What this research does accomplish is opening a new avenue of investigation into RF radiation's potential carcinogenic effects beyond the brain tumors that have dominated EMF cancer research.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
There are few epidemiologic studies dealing with electromagnetic radiation and uveal melanoma. The majority of these studies are exploratory and are based on job and industry titles only. We conducted a hospital-based and population-based case-control study of uveal melanoma and occupational exposures to different sources of electromagnetic radiation, including radiofrequency radiation.
We then pooled these results. We interviewed a total of 118 female and male cases with uveal melanom...
We found an elevated risk for exposure to radiofrequency-transmitting devices (exposure to radio set...
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2001_the_possible_role_of_2611,
author = {Stang A and Anastassiou G and Ahrens W and Bromen K and Bornfeld N and Jockel KH},
title = {The possible role of radiofrequency radiation in the development of uveal melanoma.},
year = {2001},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11138823/},
}