NTP Study On Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation

2020 · Harm · Moderate evidence

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HarmModerate evidencePaper 2212

Male rats exposed to non-thermal levels of cell phone RF radiation showed significantly increased incidences of glioma and schwannoma; no such increases were observed in female rats or mice. Subchronic studies showed no toxicologically significant effects on …

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

-= NTP Study Update: ntp.niehs.nih.gov Two-year oncogenicity evaluations of cell phone radiofrequency radiation in Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice McCormick D. Two-year oncogenicity evaluations of cell phone radiofrequency radiation in Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice. Toxicology Letters. 280 (Suppl. 1): S31. Oct 20, 2017.doi.org Epidemiology data concerning possible health effects of exposure to radiofrequency fields (RF) are conflicting. For this reason, well-designed and controlled studies in predictive laboratory animal models provide the best prospective opportunity to identify effects of RF exposure that may translate into human health hazards. The U.S. National Toxicology Program supported a program in our laboratory to identify and characterize effects of acute, subchronic, and chronic exposure to non-thermal levels of RF in Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice. Five-day pilot studies were performed to identify the maximum Specific Absorption Ratios (SARs) to which juvenile, adult, and pregnant rodents can be exposed without increasing body temperature by >1.0 °C. Subsequent subchronic (ten-week) toxicity studies failed to identify any toxicologically significant effects of non- thermal RF on survival, body weight, clinical signs, hematology, or gross or microscopic pathology. Two-year studies were performed to determine if exposure to non-thermal levels of RF increases the incidence of neoplasia in any site. Male rats exposed to RF demonstrated significantly increased incidences of glioma (brain) and schwannoma (heart); these increases were not seen in female rats or in either sex of mice. Gliomas and schwannomas have been identified in some epidemiology studies as possible RF-induced neoplasms. Considering (a) the conflicting results of RF epidemiology studies and (b) the lack of generally accepted biophysical or molecular mechanisms through which RF could induce or promote neoplasia, data from animal bioassays will play a central role in "weight-of-the-evidence" assessments of the possible health effects of RF exposure. sciencedirect.com Also see: National Toxicology Program Finds Cell Phone Radiation Causes Cancer

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 typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationSprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF · two years

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 70% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

glioma (brain)
schwannoma (heart)
survival
body weight
clinical signs
hematology
gross pathology
microscopic pathology

Limitations

No detailed sample size provided
Lack of mechanistic explanation for RF-induced neoplasia
Findings limited to male rats, not observed in females or mice

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "cell phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "two years"
  },
  "population": "Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "glioma (brain)",
    "schwannoma (heart)",
    "survival",
    "body weight",
    "clinical signs",
    "hematology",
    "gross pathology",
    "microscopic pathology"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Male rats exposed to non-thermal levels of cell phone RF radiation showed significantly increased incidences of glioma and schwannoma; no such increases were observed in female rats or mice. Subchronic studies showed no toxicologically significant effects on survival, body weight, clinical signs, hematology, or pathology.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "No detailed sample size provided",
    "Lack of mechanistic explanation for RF-induced neoplasia",
    "Findings limited to male rats, not observed in females or mice"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.7,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency radiation",
    "cell phone",
    "glioma",
    "schwannoma",
    "animal study",
    "oncogenicity",
    "non-thermal exposure"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.8,
      "reason": "Study on health effects of RF radiation relevant to exposure guidelines."
    }
  ]
}

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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.toxlet.2017.07.07
PubMed: Not supplied

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