A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

brain tumors: Microwave News Article Archive (2004 - )

June 11, 2019

GBM Rising in Denmark,Much as in England

GBM is going up in Denmark. The steady rise is very similar to what has been seen in England.

New government data, released in May by a member of the Danish Parliament, show a near doubling of this fatal brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, since the year 2000. You can see the trend by following the orange line in the histogram …

February 20, 2019

The Precarious Case Against Precaution

It has been nearly eight years since an expert panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified RF radiation as a possible human carcinogen. Since then, neither the World Health Organization (WHO) nor the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has recommended precautionary policies to limit potential health risks.

No U.S. health agency has yet advised the public to reduce RF exposures.

Even after two large animal studies —by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) and Italy’s Ramazzini Institute— presented clear evidence of a cancer link last year, the WHO has remained silent; ICNIRP responded by calling both animal studies unconvincing.

Now comes the Annual Review of Public Health, which on January 11 posted a paper by five leading epidemiologists who posit that, after a systematic review of all the human studies, they don’t see an elevated cancer risk. The takeaway is that the IARC classification was a mistake.

January 2, 2019

Aussies Claim No Brain Tumor Link; Skepticism Abounds

The incidence of brain tumors in Australia did not increase between 2003 and 2013, according to a new analysis by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR). This means that there can be no link between the use of mobile phones and brain cancer, they claim. 

If such an association were true, “then the brain tumor rates would be higher than those that are observed,” states an ARPANSA press release that accompanies the new paper published in BMJ Open.

“People say mobile phones can cause cancer but our study showed this was not the case,” said ARPANSA’s Ken Karipidis, the lead author.

Others are skeptical. The work is incomplete and misleading —or worse, they say.

December 13, 2018

“Mobile Phone Use and Incidence of Brain Tumour Histological Types, Grading or Anatomical Location: A Population-Based Ecological Study,” BMJ Open, posted December 9, 2018.

“We found no evidence that mobile phone use increased any brain tumour histological types or subtypes.” See also the press release. Open access.

October 26, 2018

Location, Location, LocationAggressive Brain Tumors Tell a Story

A U.K. epidemiologist has confirmed that glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain tumor, is on the rise in England. In a new paper, Frank de Vocht of the University of Bristol reports that he sees a significant and consistent increase in GBM in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain over the last 20-30 years.

Alasdair Philips, an independent researcher based in Scotland, and three colleagues first documented the increase last March. It was not due to improved diagnosis, they said, but they could not pinpoint which “environmental or lifestyle factor” was responsible. There was one obvious possibility: cell phones.

August 1, 2018

“Occupational Exposure to High-Frequency EMFs and Brain Tumor Risk in the INTEROCC Study: An Individualized Assessment Approach,” Environment International, online July 31, 2018.

“In conclusion, despite the improved quantitative exposure assessment used in this study, the results do not support a positive association between occupational exposure to high-frequency EMF and either glioma or meningioma risk. However, given our limited statistical power, due to the small number of exposed participants, and despite our results’ lack of significance our findings foster the need for further research focusing on RF magnetic fields and tumor promotion, as well as possible interactions with other frequencies and with chemicals.” (see...

March 25, 2018

Aggressive Brain Tumors on the Rise in England

The incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the deadliest type of brain tumor, more than doubled in England between 1995 and 2015, according to a new analysis of national statistics. During that time, the number of cases of GBM rose from 983 to 2,531.

“We found a sustained and highly significant increase in GBM throughout the 21 years and across all ages,” said Alasdair Philips, the lead author of the study, which has just been released online by the peer-reviewed, open access, Journal of Environmental and Public Health.

“The incidence rate of GBM, the most aggressive and quickly fatal brain tumor, is rising dramatically in England while the rates for lower grade tumors have decreased, masking this dramatic trend in the overall data,” Philips told Microwave News from his home in Beeswing in southern Scotland, not far from the English border.

December 18, 2017

“Effect of Tumor-Treating Fields Plus Maintenance Temozolomide vs Maintenance Temozolomide Alone on Survival in Patients with Glioblastoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” JAMA, December 19, 2017.

Supplementing chemotherapy with 200 kHz E-fields increased progression-free survival (by 2.7 months to 6.7 months) and overall survival (by 4.9 months to 20.9 months) in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Both are statistically significant improvements.

June 9, 2017

“Interactions Between Occupational Exposure to ELF Magnetic Fields and Chemicals for Brain Tumour Risk in the INTEROCC Study,” Occupational & Environmental Medicine, posted June 9, 2017.

“There was no clear evidence for interactions between occupational ELF and chemical exposures in relation to glioma or meningioma risk observed.” For more on INTEROCC, go here.

April 12, 2017

“Case-Control Study on Occupational Exposure to ELF EMFs and Glioma Risk,” American Journal of Industrial Medicine, posted online April 10, 2017.

“An increased risk in late stage (promotion/progression) of astrocytoma grade IV for occupational ELF-EMF exposure was found.” From Sweden (including Lennart Hardell). For background, see our “EMF Cancer Promotion: An Old Idea Makes a Strong Comeback.”

January 31, 2017

Changing Mix of Brain Tumors in U.K.

The incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most virulent and deadly type of brain cancer, is going up in the U.K., while the incidence there of other types of malignant brain tumors are declining, according to some newly published raw data.

Take a look at the two plots below and the trends are immediately apparent.

The incidence rates are not corrected for age, or...

November 28, 2016

“Brain Cancer Patients Survive Longer By Sending Electric Field Through Their Heads,” IEEE Spectrum, November 22, 2016.

Novocure’s 200 kHz signals kept 43% of GBM patients alive compared to 30% on the standard treatment.

November 5, 2016

“The Intracranial Distribution of Gliomas in Relation to Exposure from Mobile Phones: Analysis from the Interphone Study,” American Journal of Epidemiology, posted online November 3, 2016.

The latest analysis from Interphone. The same tensions continue with no clear consensus.

May 31, 2016

News Media Nix NTP Cancer Study“Don’t Believe the Hype”

Senior managers at the National Toxicology Program (NTP) released the preliminary results of their cell phone radiation study late last week. They were so concerned about the elevated rates of two types of cancer among exposed rats that they felt an immediate public alert was warranted. They considered it unwise to wait for the results to wend their way into a journal sometime next year. Not surprisingly, the NTP report generated worldwide media attention.

There were some startling reactions. Both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and Consumer Reports immediately shelved their long-held, wait-and-see positions. In a statement issued soon after the NTP’s press conference, Otis Brawley, ACS’ chief medical officer, called the NTP report “good science.” Consumer Reports said that the new study was “groundbreaking” and encouraged people to take simple precautions to limit their exposures.

However, much of the mainstream media saw it very differently. The Washington Post ran its story under the headline, “Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? Don’t Believe the Hype.”

June 3, 2015

“Mother Fights Brain Cancer with Electric Fields,” a video from Reuters on Novocure therapy, June 2, 2015.

For more on Novocure, going back to 2007, follow this link.

December 27, 2014

“Scalp Device Might Help Patients with Brain Tumors,” Boston Globe, December 27, 2014.

The latest on NovoCure’s EM therapy for brain tumors. Not a cure; it increases overall survival time by about three months. The cost is high: $21,000/month. See also our other stories about NovoCure going back to 2007.

October 16, 2014

“Decreased Survival of Glioma Patients with Astrocytoma Grade IV (GBM) Associated with Long-Term Use of Mobile and Cordless Phones,” by Sweden’s Michael Carlberg and Lennart Hardell, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, posted online October 16, 2014.

Those who first used wireless phones before the age of 20 have a higher brain tumor risk and a shorter survival time, Hardell told us. This paper, along with others like a recent German-Iranian paper, call for an “urgent revision of current exposure guidelines,” they write. Open access.

June 30, 2014

Freaky or What?

INTEROCC and INTERPHONE have a lot in common —more than their first five letters. So much in common that it’s a bit freaky. Or, maybe it just shows, once again, how small, insulated and polarized the EMF community is.

The most obvious parallels are that Elisabeth Cardis is the principal investigator of both the...

June 30, 2014

INTEROCC: What About Cell Phones?

The new INTEROCC paper raises an intriguing question: Might the ELF component of GSM phone radiation present a brain tumor risk?

To date, all the attention on the cancer risk from mobile phones has been on RF radiation. Now that INTEROCC points to a credible association between exposure to ELF EMFs and brain tumors (see main story), is it possible, we have been focusing on the...

June 30, 2014

EMF Cancer Promotion: An Old Idea Makes a Strong Comeback

Power-frequency magnetic fields can promote brain tumors, according to the largest epidemiological study of its kind ever undertaken. The study promises to breathe new life into the idea that extremely low frequency (ELF) EMFs are more likely to be cancer promoters than causes of cancer. This hypothesis gained support a generation ago but has lost currency in recent years.

The new results, published online earlier this month by the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, come from INTEROCC, an international project with seven participating countries designed to investigate occupational health risks from chemicals and EMFs. The project is directed by Elisabeth Cardis at CREAL in Barcelona with $1.5 million from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (though none of the tumor cases are from the U.S.).

The INTEROCC team found that those who were exposed to elevated EMF exposures at work during the five years prior to diagnosis had significantly higher rates of glioma compared to those who were least exposed during that time on the job. The greater the exposure, the greater the tumor risk.

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