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Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.

Cancer & Tumors

No effect of short-term exposure to GSM-modulated low-power microwaves on benzo(a)pyrene-induced tumours in rat.

No Effects Found

Chagnaud, JL, Moreau, JM, Veyret, B · 1999

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Two weeks of GSM radiation exposure showed no effect on chemically-induced tumors in rats at human safety limit levels.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed rats with chemically-induced tumors to GSM cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 2 hours daily over 2 weeks to see if the radiation would accelerate cancer development. The study found no effect - the microwave exposure neither sped up nor delayed tumor growth, and didn't affect animal survival rates. The exposure levels used were within current safety limits for human whole-body exposure.

Why This Matters

This 1999 study represents an important early investigation into whether cell phone radiation might promote existing cancers, using exposure levels comparable to safety limits for humans. While the negative findings might seem reassuring, this research has significant limitations that prevent drawing broad conclusions about EMF safety. The exposure duration was extremely short - just 2 weeks - compared to the years or decades of daily cell phone use typical today. Additionally, the study used a chemical carcinogen model rather than examining whether RF radiation itself might initiate cancer development. The reality is that tumor promotion studies require much longer exposure periods to detect meaningful effects, and this brief exposure window may have been insufficient to observe any acceleration of cancer growth even if such effects exist.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.075, 0.27 W/kg
Power Density
0.055, 0.2 mW/cm²
Exposure Duration
2h daily for 2 weeks

Exposure Context

This study used 0.055, 0.2 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.055, 0.2 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 18 times higher than this level

Study Details

In view of current interest in the biological effects of amplitude-modulated microwaves arising from the rapid development of mobile communications, the effects of low-level microwaves on cancer development were investigated using a rat sarcoma model.

Two-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated by injection of benzo(a)pyrene and irradiated ...

Microwave exposure had no effect on the development of tumours. No acceleration or delays in tumour ...

Low-level GSM microwave exposure of rat bearing benzo(a)pyrene-induced tumours had no effect on auto-antibody levels, tumour appearance and survival. The low exposure levels used here correspond to exposure limits for whole-body exposure of human

Cite This Study
Chagnaud, JL, Moreau, JM, Veyret, B (1999). No effect of short-term exposure to GSM-modulated low-power microwaves on benzo(a)pyrene-induced tumours in rat. Int J Radiat Biol 75(10):1251-1256, 1999.
Show BibTeX
@article{chagnaud_1999_no_effect_of_shortterm_2967,
  author = {Chagnaud and JL and Moreau and JM and Veyret and B},
  title = {No effect of short-term exposure to GSM-modulated low-power microwaves on benzo(a)pyrene-induced tumours in rat.},
  year = {1999},
  doi = {10.1080/095530099139403},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/095530099139403},
}
DOI: 10.1080/095530099139403

Cited By (45 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 1999 study found that 900 MHz GSM cell phone radiation did not accelerate tumor growth in rats with chemically-induced cancers. Researchers exposed animals to 2 hours daily of microwave radiation for 2 weeks, finding no effect on tumor development or animal survival rates.
Research using 900 MHz GSM radiation found no delays in tumor onset in rats with benzo(a)pyrene-induced cancers. The study exposed animals to cell phone-level microwaves for 2 hours daily over 2 weeks, showing neither acceleration nor delay in cancer progression.
A rat study found that GSM microwave exposure at 900 MHz had no impact on survival rates in animals with chemically-induced tumors. The 2-week exposure period using human whole-body safety limit levels showed no modification to animal survival compared to unexposed controls.
Research suggests current safety limits may be adequate for cancer patients, as 900 MHz GSM exposure within human whole-body limits showed no effects on tumor-bearing rats. The study found no acceleration of cancer development or changes in survival at these exposure levels.
A study found that 2 weeks of 900 MHz GSM radiation exposure did not affect serum auto-antibody levels in rats with chemically-induced tumors. The immune system markers remained similar between exposed and unexposed animals throughout the cancer development process.