University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Director Warns of Possible Link Between Cell Phone Use and Cancer

Posted October 22nd, 2008 by John C. Oconnor

Employees at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute were warned last week to limit their cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. The warning came from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and apparently contradicts many studies that do not find a link between cancer and cell phone use.

In a memo Herberman sent to about 3,000 faculty and staff last Wednesday, he stated that children should use cell phones only for emergencies because their brains are still developing. For adults, he recommends keeping the phone away from the head and using the speaker phone or a wireless headset.

Herberman also warned against using cell phones in public places, because it exposes others to the phone’s electromagnetic fields. Herberman’s warnings are based on early unpublished data. He has stated that it “takes too long to get answers from science”, and believes that people “should take action now, especially when it comes to children”.

Cellular telephones emit radio frequency (RF) energy, a form of radiation, which is being investigated for its effects on the human body. The largest published study on this issue appeared in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2006, and tracked 420,000 Danish cell phone users, including thousands that had used the phones for more than 10 years. It found no increased risk of cancer among those using cell phones.