Monday, August 4, 2025

WHO Clears Cellphone Radiation: No Link to Brain Cancer, New Study Reveals

Yonhap News

For a long time, cellphone radiation has been suspected as a major cause of brain diseases such as brain cancer. However, these allegations have now been cleared.

World Health Organization (WHO) reviewed over 5,000 related studies published between 1994 and 2022 and ultimately analyzed 63 of them.

According to the WHO’s analysis, there is no connection between cellphone use and the development of brain cancer.

This analysis examined existing studies that addressed the relationship between brain cancer and exposure to electromagnetic waves produced by cell phones and other wireless devices. The results showed that even after more than 10 years of long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation or frequent cellphone use, the risk of developing brain cancer did not increase.

The analysis also found no increased risk of diseases such as brain cancer or leukemia in children exposed to electromagnetic waves from radio or TV transmitters. Furthermore, cellphone base stations, often criticized due to fears of radiation, were not associated with an increased risk of brain diseases.

Ken Karipidis, a radiation expert in the WHO study, explained that cell phones do not need to emit stronger electromagnetic waves to receive signals, reducing overall exposure in areas with base stations.

The misunderstanding that cellphone radiation increases the risk of brain cancer began in 2011 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an affiliate of WHO, classified radiation as a substance that could possibly cause cancer in humans.

Concerns about cellphone radiation began in 2011 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a WHO affiliate, classified radiation as a possible carcinogen. However, this classification was based on limited case studies involving a small number of brain cancer patients and did not definitively prove that electromagnetic waves are carcinogenic. Initial studies compared cellphone usage times reported by brain cancer patients with those of a control group without brain cancer. It was suggested that brain cancer patients might have biased their responses, possibly exaggerating their cellphone usage in an attempt to find a cause for their illness.

Karipidis noted that later cohort studies tracked the same group over time and found no link between cellphone use and brain cancer incidence. He also pointed out that substances like talcum powder and aloe vera, which are used for treating rashes, have similarly been classified as possible carcinogens, like radiation.

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