Lymphomas in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHZ electromagnetic fields.
Repacholi, MH, Basten, A, Gebski, V, Noonan, D, Finnie, J, Harris, AW · 1997
View Original AbstractCell phone-level radiation doubled cancer risk in predisposed mice, suggesting RF fields may accelerate tumor development in genetically vulnerable individuals.
Plain English Summary
Scientists exposed genetically cancer-prone mice to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields (similar to cell phone signals) for 30 minutes twice daily for up to 18 months. The exposed mice developed lymphoma (a type of cancer) at 2.4 times the rate of unexposed mice. This suggests that cell phone-type radiation may accelerate cancer development in those already genetically susceptible.
Why This Matters
This landmark 1997 study by Repacholi and colleagues represents one of the most significant animal studies linking radiofrequency radiation to cancer development. What makes this research particularly compelling is that the exposure levels (0.13-1.4 W/kg average SAR) fall within the range of typical cell phone use, and the 900 MHz frequency matches early GSM mobile phone technology. The study's design was methodologically sound, using cancer-prone transgenic mice to model how RF exposure might affect individuals with genetic predispositions to cancer. The 2.4-fold increase in lymphoma risk is statistically robust and biologically meaningful. While industry-funded replication attempts have produced mixed results, this study's findings align with growing evidence that RF radiation can act as a cancer promoter, particularly in vulnerable populations. The reality is that regulatory agencies largely dismissed these findings, yet they remain among the strongest experimental evidence for RF carcinogenicity.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.008-4.2 , 0.13-1.4 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.26, 1.3 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 900 MHZ
- Exposure Duration
- 30 min up to 18 months
Exposure Context
This study used 0.26, 1.3 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 26Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 433.3Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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 Details
The aim of the present study was to determine whether long-term exposure to pulse-modulated RF fields similar to those used in digital mobile telecommunications would increase the incidence of lymphoma in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice, which are moderately predisposed to develop lymphoma spontaneously.
One hundred female E mu-Pim1 mice were sham-exposed and 101 were exposed for two 30-min periods per...
Lymphoma risk was found to be significantly higher in the exposed mice than in the controls (OR = 2....
We suggest that such genetically cancer-prone mice provide an experimental system for more detailed assessment of dose-response relationships for risk of cancer after RF-field exposure.
Show BibTeX
@article{repacholi_1997_lymphomas_in_e_mupim1_1292,
author = {Repacholi and MH and Basten and A and Gebski and V and Noonan and D and Finnie and J and Harris and AW},
title = {Lymphomas in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHZ electromagnetic fields.},
year = {1997},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9146709/},
}