Do cellphones cause cancer? 'The science is still out'
In November 2012, new reports surfaced about a 21-year-old woman in Strasburg, Pa., who had been diagnosed with breast cancer despite the lack of any predisposition or risk factors.
In the report, and in several others that followed, featuring women with similarly unexpected diagnoses of breast cancer, the women claimed the act of keeping their cellphones in their bras may have been the cause.
However, despite numerous recent studies examining the possible link between cellphone radiation and cancer, there remains no definitive answer.
Bonnie Jerome-D'Emilia, an assistant professor of nursing at Rutgers-Camden - who is currently studying treatment and early detection of breast cancer in Hispanic and African American women in Camden - said it's especially difficult to draw hard causality from such anecdotal reports.
"I did look back on the story (of the Strasburg woman), and it's very unfortunate, what she went through, but, today, you can't say something is caused by something else based on just one - or two, or three - instances," said Jerome-D'Emilia. "There are so many factors in daily life that may potentially lead to cancer, that it's difficult to tease just one out.
"Think about the millions and billions of people around the world using cellphones - if it was true, the numbers would reflect that."
The National Cancer Institute came to a similar conclusion in March 2012, when they noted that despite cellphone use in the United States increasing from nearly zero to almost 100 percent of the population from 1992 to 2008, trends of glioma, one of the most common forms of brain cancer, has remained roughly constant.
Still, more research remains to be done.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, in 2011 classified cellphone radiation as "possibly carcinogenic," and that there "could be some risk."
Many phone companies package their cellphones with warnings not to press them against your skin for prolonged periods - an example of "better safe than sorry," or of the companies shielding themselves from litigation, depending on how one looks at it.
And even when an increased risk of brain cancer had not been established in the IARC's data, the same study later states the highest category of heavy cellphone users - about 30 minutes a day for 10 years - do run a greater risk of developing brain cancer.
"The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation," read part of the conclusion.
Basically, as Jerome-D'Emilia puts it, "the science is still out."
"You have to look at all of the studies, and put the whole body of literature together," she said. "That's what scientists do - you look at the number of studies, and what has been replicated and what stands the test of time.
"Just like with smoking now - we now know that smoking really does cause cancer."
Jerome-D'Emilia recommended keeping up with organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which she said compiles scientifically sound information and articles for those seeking to learn more.
"The most important thing is to not take anecdotal evidence has truth," she said. "Trust sources and websites that take data from all over the world."
Contact Jason Laday at 856-845-3300, ext. 228, or jladay@southjerseymedia.com.