Can Mobile Phone Use Lead To Brain Cancer? Here’s What WHO Says

Many myths surround mobile phone use around the world, and one of such is: Can Mobile Phone Use Lead To Brain Cancer?

The question reverberates from Nigeria to China, the USA to Germany, and more, all against the background of the world experiencing tremendous growth in the use of mobile phones.

Statistics from collestgadgets.com for example states that there are around 6.84 billion smartphones in use worldwide, and by end of 2024, smart phone use would have reached 7.1 billion.

• China has the highest number of smartphone users in the world.
• Germany has the highest smartphone usage per capita, while the Half of the population in the United States spends about 5 to 6 hours per day on their smartphones in 2024.
• Bringing the picture down to Nigeria, Statista, quoting different sources, submits that the number of smartphone users in Nigeria, roughly 25 and 40 million currently, would grow to more than 140 million by 2025.

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The above has made the question ever more strident: Can Mobile Phone Use Lead To Brain Cancer?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has responded precisely via a systematic review, led by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (Arpansa).The review which examined more than 5,000 studies on the subject has submitted that mobile phone use, no matter how long is not linked to brain cancer.

It states in a statement that its researchers did not find risk of cancer despite long years of use of mobile phones’ use.

Lead author Ken Karipidis stated: “We concluded the evidence does not show a link between mobile phones and brain cancer or other head and neck cancers.

“Even though mobile phone use has skyrocketed, brain tumour rates have remained stable,”

The researchers examined 5,060 studies for their analysis but selected only 63 that investigated causal relationship — meaning studies that were designed to find out whether exposure to radio-frequency and electromagnetic radiation caused the cancers.

Even as the study may have put the vexed issue to rest for now, not so increasing interest on cancer, types and possible causes. the text following provides enlightening perspectives:

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Types Of Cancer And What Causes Them

Given the above scenario and concerns raised by people, what are the types of cancer and how do they come about?

According to the National Cancer Institute there are more than 100 types of cancer, named for the organs or tissues where they form. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and brain cancer starts in the brain. Cancers also may be described by the type of cell that formed them, such as an epithelial cell or a squamous cell.

1. Carcinoma

Carcinomas are the most common type of cancer. They are formed by epithelial cells, which are the cells that cover the inside and outside surfaces of the body. There are many types of epithelial cells, which often have a column-like shape when viewed under a microscope. NCI does not have PDQ evidence-based information about prevention of soft tissue sarcoma.

Soft tissue sarcoma forms in soft tissues of the body, including muscle, tendons, fat, blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerves, and tissue around joints.

2. Leukemia

Leukemia are ancers that begin in the blood-forming tissue of the bone marrow These cancers do not form solid tumors. Instead, large numbers of abnormal white blood cells (leukemia cells and leukemic blast cells) build up in the blood and bone marrow, crowding out normal blood cells. The low level of normal blood cells can make it harder for the body to get oxygen to its tissues, control bleeding, or fight infections.

3. Lymphoma

Lymphoma is cancer that begins in lymphocytes (T cells or B cells). These are disease-fighting white blood cells that are part of the immune system. In lymphoma, abnormal lymphocytes build up in lymph nodes and lymph vessels, as well as in other organs of the body.

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2 main types of lymphoma:

Hodgkin lymphoma – People with this disease have abnormal lymphocytes that are called Reed-Sternberg cells. These cells usually form from B cells.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – This is a large group of cancers that start in lymphocytes. The cancers can grow quickly or slowly and can form from B cells or T cells.

4. Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is cancer that begins in plasma cells, another type of immune cell. The abnormal plasma cells, called myeloma cells, build up in the bone marrow and form tumors in bones all through the body. Multiple myeloma is also called plasma cell myeloma and Kahler disease.

5. Melanoma

Melanoma is cancer that begins in cells that become melanocytes, which are specialized cells that make melanin (the pigment that gives skin its color). Most melanomas form on the skin, but melanomas can also form in other pigmented tissues, such as the eye.

Detailed information could be accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer#top