Do cellphones cause cancer? A a new study suggests the answer could be no.
In May, the World Health Organization classified cellphones as a carcinogenic agent under the group titled "possibly carcinogenic to humans," the same ranking given to materials like lead, DDT and engine exhaust. But a new report published in the Environmental Health Perspectives Journal suggests that mobile phones may not increase the risk of cancer after all.
"Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults," the report reads.
Carried out by the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection Standing Committee on Epidemiology, the study found that 10 to 15 years of cellphone use were not found to create a significant change in users' cancer risk.
The study looked at instances of cancer between 1970 and 2008, finding that cancer instances before and after cellphone use remained basically static.
Researchers said that the WHO's study, consisting of a ten-year survey of close to 13,000 participants, may have suffered from methodological deficiencies. For example, researchers asked people to recall how frequently they had used their phones against their ears, and on which ear.
However, scientists acknowledged that there is yet an insufficient amount of data available to conclusively rule anything out. Over five billion handsets are in use today, but information only looks at 10 to 15 years of exposure in adults, without data available as to childhood use.