Danger in the air? — Radio waves and cancer

The metabolic effects of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation on living cells could lead to a number of health risks.

A metabolic imbalance caused by radiation from wireless devices could be the link to a number of health risks, such as various neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, a recent study suggests.

‘Oxidative Mechanisms of Biological Activity of Low-intensity Radiofrequency Radiation’, a review article published in Electromagnetic Biology & Medicine, explores experimental data on the metabolic effects of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation in living cells.

This imbalance, also known as oxidative stress, is defined by co-author Dr Igor Yakymenko as “an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defence”.

Yakymenko explains the oxidative stress due to RFR exposure could explain not only cancer, but also other minor disorders such as headache, fatigue and skin irritation, which could develop after long-term RFR exposure. “These data are a clear sign of the real risks this kind of radiation poses for human health,” Yakymenko said.

The article explains that ROS are often produced in cells due to aggressive environments, and can also be provoked by ‘ordinary wireless radiation’. Up-to-date research demonstrates possible carcinogenic effects of radiofrequency (RFR)/microwave radiation. In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified RFR as a possible carcinogen for humans. But clear molecular mechanisms of such effects of RFR were a bottleneck in acceptance of a reality of risk.

The article demonstrates that the hazardous effects of RFR could be realised through the ‘classical mechanisms’ of oxidative impairments in living cells.

Yakymenko and his colleagues call for a precautionary approach in using wireless technologies, such as cell phones and wireless internet.

Commenting on reports of the research, Professor Bruce Armstrong, Emeritus Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, Senior Adviser to the Sax Institute and Chairman of the Bureau of Health Information, said, “They conclude that these effects are potentially damaging to human health; which is correct if the research reviewed is basically sound.

“The soundness of the research is hard to judge because the paper focuses mainly on the research results and not on the research quality, which is likely to be highly variable.”

According to Professor Armstrong, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed the evidence for cancer-causing effects (one of the possible outcomes of oxidative stress in cells) of RFR in 2011 and concluded that RFR possibly causes cancer in humans.

“IARC would have considered most of the papers covered by this review in its deliberations,” he said.

Professor Armstrong added that with respect specifically to the effects in cellular systems, the IARC concluded, “Overall, the Working Group concluded that there was weak evidence that exposure to RF radiation affects oxidative stress and alters the levels of reactive oxygen species,” and that with respect to experimental animals, IARC concluded, “There is limited evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity [cancer-causing effect] of radiofrequency radiation.”

Professor Armstrong said that in practical terms, the conclusions of the Yakymenko paper and the IARC monograph are little different.

“Yakymenko et al concluded: ‘… a broad biological potential of ROS and other free radicals, including both their mutagenic effects and their signalling regulatory potential, makes RFR a potentially hazardous factor for human health’,” he said.

“With respect to cancer, there is little if anything in cancer trends over the past 30 years, and particularly in the brain (given concerns about mobile phone use), to suggest that recent large increases in exposure to RFR are increasing cancer risk.”

Image courtesy Electronic Frontier Foundation under CC