Ten years of mobile use can raise cancer risk — scientists

LONDON, Oct 8 (KUNA) — Regular use of a mobile phone over more than a decade can raise the risk of cancer, an authoritative study claimed Monday.
Researchers found that long-term users had double the chance of getting a malignant tumor on the side of the brain where they held the handset, The Daily Mail newspaper said.
An hour a day on a mobile phone is thought to be enough to increase the risk.
The Swedish scientists said the international standard employed to protect users from radiation emissions was not safe and needed updating.
They said children should be discouraged from using mobiles because their thinner skulls and developing nervous systems made them especially vulnerable.
Adults should exercise caution.
The study examined long-term users because cancer can take more than a decade to develop.
The scientists analyzed the results of 11 studies carried out around the world.
They found almost all had discovered an increased risk of cancer of the glial cells that support and protect the nerve cells, the paper said.
There was also a higher risk of acoustic neuromas, benign but often disabling tumors.
The analysis revealed that those who have used their phones for at least a decade are 20 percent more likely to contract acoustic neuromas and 30 percent more likely to get malignant gliomas.
The risk is even greater on the side of the head the handset is held.
Long-term users were twice as likely to get the gliomas and two-and-a-half times more likely to get the acoustic neuromas there than other people, The Daily Mail added.
The mobile phone industry denies there is any proven risk to health associated with the devices.