Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) on cancer in laboratory animal studies (WHO SR2)

2022 · Unclear · High evidence

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UnclearHigh evidencePaper 915

This article presents a protocol for a WHO systematic review evaluating whether RF EMF exposure affects cancer outcomes in laboratory animal cancer bioassays. It describes planned search methods, eligibility criteria, risk-of-bias assessment, and evidence cer…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022

Study typesystematic_review

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingHigh

Abstract

Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) on cancer in laboratory animal studies (WHO SR2) Meike Mevissen, Jerrold M. Ward, Annette Kopp-Schneider, James P. McNamee, Andrew W. Wood, Tania M. Rivero, Kristina Thayer, Kurt Straif. Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) on cancer in laboratory animal studies. Environment International. Volume 161, 2022. 107106. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107106. Abstract Background The carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) has been evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2011. Based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and in animals, RF EMF were classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). In 2018, based on a survey amongst RF experts, WHO prioritized six major topics of potential RF EMF related human health effects for systematic reviews. In the current manuscript, we present the protocol for the systematic review of experimental laboratory animal studies (cancer bioassays) on exposure to RF fields on the outcome of cancer in laboratory animals. Objective In the framework of WHO’s Radiation Program, the aim of this work is to systematically evaluate effects of RF EMF exposure on cancer in laboratory animals. Study eligibility and criteria WHO's Handbook (2014) for guideline development will be followed with appropriate adaptation. The selection of eligible studies will be based on Population, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes (PECO) criteria. We will include peer-reviewed articles and publicly available reports from government agencies reporting original data about animal cancer bioassays on exposure to RF EMF. The studies are identified by searching the following databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), Science Citation Index Expanded and Emerging Sources Citation Indes (Web of Science), Scopus, and the EMF Portal. No language or year-of- publication restrictions are applied. The methods and results of eligible studies will be presented in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Study appraisal method Study evaluation of individual studies will be assessed using a risk of bias (RoB) tool developed by the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) with appropriate considerations including sensitivity for evaluating RF EMF exposure in animal cancer bioassays. The final evaluation on the certainty of the evidence on a carcinogenic risk of RF EMF exposure in experimental animals will be performed using the OHAT Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach with appropriate considerations. The protocol has been registered in an open-source repository (PROSPERO). Funding The study is partly financially supported by the World Health Organization. No additional funding was provided outside author salaries through their places of employment. Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: AWW directs a research group, which includes three technical associates who are telecommunications company employees. JM receives employment and research support from The government of Canada related to the topic. KS has been the Head of the IARC Monographs program until his regular retirement (11/2018). Since 10/2019, he is a member of the International Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ramazzini Institute. This involves one 3 h advisory group meeting per year. He does not receive remuneration for his advisory activity. MM is a member of the scientific advisory board of The Swiss Research Foundation for Electricity and Mobile Communication (FSM) that receives research money from commercial entities. She does not receive remuneration for his advisory activity. Her partner does consulting relating to cell phone safety. All remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. sciencedirect.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typesystematic_review

Effect directionunclear

PopulationLaboratory animals (experimental cancer bioassays)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthHighConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Cancer

Limitations

Protocol paper; no study results or effect estimates are reported in the abstract.
Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, SAR, duration) are not specified in the abstract.

View raw extracted JSON

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  "publication_year": null,
  "study_type": "systematic_review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Laboratory animals (experimental cancer bioassays)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Cancer"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This article presents a protocol for a WHO systematic review evaluating whether RF EMF exposure affects cancer outcomes in laboratory animal cancer bioassays. It describes planned search methods, eligibility criteria, risk-of-bias assessment, and evidence certainty grading, but does not report results.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Protocol paper; no study results or effect estimates are reported in the abstract.",
    "Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, SAR, duration) are not specified in the abstract."
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "high",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "stance": "neutral",
  "stance_confidence": 0.74,
  "summary": "This paper describes a protocol for a WHO systematic review of experimental laboratory animal studies (cancer bioassays) assessing RF EMF exposure and cancer outcomes. The protocol plans database searches without language or year restrictions and reporting according to PRISMA 2020. Risk of bias will be assessed using an OHAT tool and certainty of evidence graded using an OHAT GRADE approach; no findings are presented.",
  "key_points": [
    "The manuscript is a protocol for a WHO systematic review focused on RF EMF exposure and cancer in laboratory animals.",
    "It follows WHO guideline development methods with PECO-based eligibility criteria.",
    "Searches will include PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and the EMF Portal with no language or year limits.",
    "Eligible evidence will include peer-reviewed articles and publicly available government reports with original animal bioassay data.",
    "Risk of bias will be evaluated using an OHAT tool with considerations for RF exposure assessment.",
    "Certainty of evidence for carcinogenic risk will be graded using an OHAT GRADE approach and the protocol is registered in PROSPERO."
  ],
  "categories": [
    "Systematic Reviews & Protocols",
    "Animal Studies",
    "Cancer"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "RF EMF",
    "Radiofrequency Exposure",
    "Cancer Bioassays",
    "Laboratory Animals",
    "Systematic Review Protocol",
    "PRISMA 2020",
    "Risk Of Bias",
    "OHAT GRADE",
    "WHO Radiation Program",
    "PROSPERO Registration"
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  "keywords": [
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    "cancer",
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    "systematic review",
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    "GRADE",
    "PRISMA",
    "WHO"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.86,
      "reason": "The protocol is part of WHO’s Radiation Program and references IARC evaluation and WHO systematic review prioritization."
    }
  ],
  "social": {
    "tweet": "New protocol (WHO SR2) outlines a systematic review of RF EMF exposure and cancer outcomes in laboratory animal bioassays, using PRISMA 2020, OHAT risk-of-bias, and OHAT GRADE; results not yet reported. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107106",
    "facebook": "This paper presents the protocol for a WHO systematic review assessing whether radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) exposure affects cancer outcomes in laboratory animal cancer bioassays. It details planned searches, eligibility criteria, risk-of-bias assessment (OHAT), and evidence grading (OHAT GRADE), but does not report results. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107106",
    "linkedin": "Protocol paper (WHO SR2) describing methods for a systematic review of RF EMF exposure and cancer in laboratory animal bioassays, including PRISMA 2020 reporting, OHAT risk-of-bias assessment, and OHAT GRADE certainty evaluation; no findings reported. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2022.107106"
  }
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107106
PubMed: Not supplied

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