Study on potential effects of "902-MHz GSM-type Wireless Communication Signals" on DMBA-induced mammary tumours in Sprague-Dawley rats.
Hruby R, Neubauer G, Kuster N, Frauscher M · 2008
View Original AbstractRats exposed to cell phone-level radiation showed significantly more malignant tumors, adding to evidence that RF exposure may promote cancer development.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to 902 MHz GSM-type wireless signals (similar to cell phone radiation) for 4 hours daily over 6 months after giving them a chemical known to cause breast cancer. The RF-exposed rats showed statistically significant increases in palpable tissue masses and more malignant tumors compared to sham-exposed controls, though the researchers concluded these differences were likely incidental due to high variability in the cancer model used.
Why This Matters
This study adds to the growing body of research examining whether radiofrequency radiation can promote cancer development. While the authors dismissed their own findings as incidental, the fact remains that rats exposed to cell phone-type radiation showed more malignant tumors than unexposed controls. The exposure levels (0.4-4.0 W/kg SAR) span the range of typical cell phone use, making these results relevant to human exposure scenarios. What's particularly concerning is the pattern we see across multiple animal studies: even when researchers find statistically significant increases in cancer, they often conclude the results are inconclusive due to study limitations. The reality is that no single study provides definitive proof, but the accumulating evidence from animal research consistently points toward biological effects that warrant serious consideration. This study reinforces why precautionary measures make sense, especially given that we're conducting a massive, uncontrolled experiment on human health with wireless technology.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.4, 1.3 or 4 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 902 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 4h/d, 5d/week, during 6 months
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The aim of the study was to detect whether long-term exposure to "902-MHz GSM-type Wireless Communication Signals" ("radio-frequency (RF)-exposure") would affect 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumours in female Sprague-Dawley rats.
Five hundred female rats were each given a single oral dose of 17 mg DMBA per kg body weight (bw) at...
There were several statistically significant differences between RF-exposed groups and the sham-expo...
In the context of the results of the cage-control group, in the light of controversial results reported in the literature, and given the fact that the DMBA-mammary tumour model is known to be prone to high variations in the results, it is the authors' opinion that the differences between the groups are rather incidental ones.
Show BibTeX
@article{r_2008_study_on_potential_effects_1034,
author = {Hruby R and Neubauer G and Kuster N and Frauscher M},
title = {Study on potential effects of "902-MHz GSM-type Wireless Communication Signals" on DMBA-induced mammary tumours in Sprague-Dawley rats.},
year = {2008},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17981079/},
}