Appendix C
92
What is known about cases of human cancer that have been
reported in users of handheld mobile phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been
diagnosed with brain cancer. But it is im portant to underst and that
this type of cancer also occurs among people who have n ot us ed
mobile phones. In fact, brain cancer occurs in the U.S. population
at a rate of about 6 new cases per 100,000 people each year. At
that rate, assuming 80 million users of mobile phones (a number
increasing at a rate of about 1 million per month), about 4800
cases of brain cancer would be expected each year among those
80 million people, whether or not they used their phones. Thus it
is not possible to tell whether any individual’s cancer arose
because of the phone, or whether it would have happened
anyway. A key question is whether the risk of getting a particular
form of cancer is greater among people who use mobile phones
than among the rest of the population. One way to answer that
question is to compare the usage of mobile phones among
people with brain cancer with the use of mobile phones among
appropriately matched people without brain cancer. This is called
a case-control study. The current case-control study of brain
cancers by the National Cancer Institute, as well as the follow-up
research to be sponsored by industry, will begin to generate this
type of information.
What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of mobile phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-
emitting consumer products such as mobile phones before
marketing, as it does with new drugs or medical devices.
However, the agency has authority to take action if mobile
phones are shown to emit radiation at a level that is hazardous to
the user. In such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of
mobile phones to notify users of the health hazard and to repair,
replace or recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists.
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory
actions at this time, FDA has urged the mobile phone industry to
take a number of steps to assure public safety. The agency has
recommended that the industry:
•support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of
the type emitted by mobile phones;
•design mobile phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure
to the user that is not necessary for device function; and
•cooperate in providing mobile phone users with the best possible
information on what is known about possible effects of mobile
phone use on human health.