8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body

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

Cancer & Tumors

Expression of cancer-related genes in human cells exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields

No Effects Found

Authors not listed · 2000

Share:

Power line frequency magnetic fields showed no consistent effects on cancer-related genes in human cells.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed human breast and blood cancer cells to 60 Hz magnetic fields (the same frequency as power lines) for 24 hours to see if EMF could alter cancer-related genes. While some genes showed changes, no consistent pattern emerged across repeated experiments, and the study found no reliable evidence that power line frequency magnetic fields affect genes involved in cancer development.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 60 Hz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale
Cite This Study
Unknown (2000). Expression of cancer-related genes in human cells exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields.
Show BibTeX
@article{expression_of_cancer_related_genes_in_human_cells_exposed_to_60_hz_magnetic_fields_ce1545,
  author = {Unknown},
  title = {Expression of cancer-related genes in human cells exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields},
  year = {2000},
  doi = {10.1667/0033-7587(2000)153[0679:EOCRGI]2.0.CO;2},
  
}
DOI: 10.1667/0033-7587(2000)153[0679:EOCRGI]2.0.CO;2PubMed: 10790292

Quick Questions About This Study

This study found no consistent changes in cancer-related gene expression when human breast and blood cells were exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields for 24 hours, despite testing 588 different cancer genes.
Researchers tested magnetic field strengths of 0.01 mT and 1.0 mT alongside unexposed controls. These levels span from very weak to moderately strong compared to typical household EMF exposure.
No relationship was found between magnetic field intensity and gene expression changes. Both 0.01 mT and 1.0 mT exposures showed similar lack of consistent effects on cancer-related genes.
The study used normal and transformed human breast cells (HME and HBL-100) plus human blood cancer cells (HL60) to test whether different cell types respond differently to magnetic fields.
Researchers used gene arrays containing 588 cancer-related genes, making this one of the most comprehensive genetic analyses of EMF effects available at the time of publication.