1. From X-rays to Cordless Phones: Radiation Causes Brain Tumors Lloyd Morgan

2. Ionizing Radiation Exposures are from X-rays, A-bombs, radioactivity
Only “known” environmental cause of brain tumors (since 1974 or earlier)
Energy sufficient to break molecular bonds
For example, DNA
Broken DNA creates free radicals
Free radicals cause further DNA damage thought to cause cancer
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Lloyd Morgan

3. Ionizing Radiation Increased risk of brain tumors
Age: Children at greater risk than adults
Dose measured in Gray (Gy): Risk increases linearly with dose
Dose=(Radiation power)/(weight of exposed tissue) x (time)
Risk increases with power (Watts)
Risk increases with time
Excess risk, 30 or more years (all ages) [1]
Brain Cancer: 200+%
Meningioma: %
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Lloyd Morgan

4. Risk by Age, Brain Cancer: Children “cured” of ringworm of the scalp by X-rays [1]
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5. Excess Risk Increases Every Year From Exposure [1]
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Lloyd Morgan

6. Ionizing Radiation Latency time (from exposure to diagnosis)
Brain Cancer: 20 to 30 years
Meningioma: years
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7. Small percentage of total tumors seen at 20 years [1]
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Lloyd Morgan

8. Non-ionizing Radiation: Wireless Phones
Exposures from cellphones, cordless phones, walkie-talkies, baby monitors
Risk of brain tumors
Energy cannot break molecular bonds
Creates free radicals; increases lifetime of free radicals
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Lloyd Morgan

9. Non-ionizing Radiation: Wireless Phones
Increased risk of brain tumors
Age: Younger have higher risk [2]
Greater than 5 years of cellphone use
700+% for years olds (7 cases, 94.8% confidence)
35% for all ages, years (160 cases, 97% confidence)
Dose measured in Gray (Gy)
Dose=(Radiation power)/(weight of exposed tissue) x (time)
Risk increases with power (Watts)
Risk increases with time
Tumor on same side of head as where digital cellphone was used [5]
260+% increased risk of brain cancer (97 cases, 99.91% confidence)
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Lloyd Morgan

10. Wireless Phones: Risk by Age [2]
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Lloyd Morgan

11. Non-ionizing Radiation: Wireless Phones
Increased risk of brain tumors
Power: Increase risk with higher wattage (phone type or distance from cell tower)
Rural cellphone users have 740% higher risk of brain cancer than urban users after 5 years of digital cellphone use (10 cases, 95.6% confidence) [3]
Time: Ten years after first use, increased risk of brain cancer with greater hours of use [5]
Cordless phone use (median hours of use=243 hours)
30% increased risk for less than median hours of use (5 cases, 35% confidence)
310% increased risk for more than median hours of use (25 cases, % confidence)
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Lloyd Morgan

12. Non-ionizing Radiation: Digital Cellphones
Latency time
Much shorter latency time than ionizing radiation (1st tumor after X-ray for ringworm was 7 years)
Brain cancer [5]
60% increased risk, 1 to 5 years of digital cellphone use
100 cases, 98% confidence
120% increased risk, 5 to 10 years
79 cases, 99.96% confidence
260% increased risk, more than 10 years
19 cases, 99.94% confidence
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Lloyd Morgan

13. Non-ionizing Radiation: Analog Cellphones
Acoustic Neuroma [4]
230% increased risk, 1 to 5 years of cellphone use
16 cases, 99.3% confidence
340% increased risk, >5 to 10 years
33 cases, % confidence
310% increased risk, >10 years
19 cases, 99.98% confidence
380% increased risk, >15 years
6 cases, 99.3% confidence
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Lloyd Morgan

14. Non-ionizing Radiation: Analog Cellphones
Meningioma [4]
20% increased risk, 1-5 years of cellphone use
32 cases, 63% confidence
20% increased risk, 5 to 10 years
47 cases, 63% confidence
60% increased risk, more than 10 years
34 cases, 96% confidence
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Lloyd Morgan

15. Wireless Phones:Years of Exposure [4, 5]
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Lloyd Morgan

16. Cellphone Industry’s Studies of the Risk of Brain Tumor from Cellphone Use
“Interphone” studies rarely find a risk of brain tumors from cellphone use
13 participating countries
Increased risk has been found
5 of 7 studies found increased risk for more than 10 years of use [7, 8, 10, 11, 12]
Major funding received from cellphone industry
Funding “was governed by agreements that guaranteed complete scientific independence”
The researchers knew where the funding had come from
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” is the psychological reality
Doesn’t mean that the researchers are dishonest
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Lloyd Morgan

17. Scatter Plots (following slides)
Vertical axis is percentage confidence of a finding
Horizontal axis is excess (or decrease) risk of a brain tumor of a finding
Risk overview
If no risk
About half of all findings will show increased risk and
About half of all findings will show decreased risk
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Lloyd Morgan

18. Scatter Plots (following slides)
Scatter plot: regions of importance
Line of "Statistical Significance“
Indicates 95% confidence
When confidence is 95% or more, it is said to be “statistically significant” (pale yellow region)
Area of Little to No Statistical Meaning (reddish region)
Zero percent confidence to 90% confidence
Area of Marginal Statistical Meaning (orange region)
90% to 95% confidence
Region where study bias may explain increased/decreased risk (bright yellow region)
Increase risk and decreased risk between up to 100%
Epidemiologists’ rule of thumb where bias or confounding problems may explain a finding
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Lloyd Morgan

19. Industry studies compared to independent studies [5, 9, 11]
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20. Industry studies compared to independent studies [4, 8, 6, 7]
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21. Industry studies compared to independent studies [4, 6, 7]
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22. A Speculation
What is the nexus between ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation and tumors?
Many physicists argue that non-ionizing radiation cannot cause tumors because non-ionizing radiation cannot break the molecular bonds of DNA. It is true that non-ionizing radiation cannot break DNA bonds. But the paradigm posited by many physicists assumes that only the breaking of DNA bonds can cause tumors.
Both ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation creates free radicals.
Perhaps the nexus is the creation of free radicals?
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Lloyd Morgan

23. Summation Ionizing Radiation Non-ionizing Radiation
Young at greater risk
Latency time
Brain cancer, years
Increased risk 55%
Meningioma, yrs
Increased risk 37%
Power
Increasing risk with increasing power
Dose measure in Gray
Non-ionizing Radiation
Young at greater risk
Latency time
Brain cancer, 1-5/> 10 years
Increased risk 60%/260%
Meningioma, >10 years
60%
Power
Increasing risk with increasing power
Dose measure in Gray
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Lloyd Morgan

24. Conclusion: A Query
Is the non-ionizing radiation exposure from wireless phone use a greater risk for brain tumors than ionizing radiation?

25. References
1. Sadetzki et al. Long-Term Follow-up for Brain Tumor Development after Childhood Exposure to Ionizing Radiation for Tinea Capitis; RADIATION RESEARCH 163, 424–432 (2005)
2. Hardell et al., Cellular and Cordless Telephone Use and the Association with Brain Tumors in Different Age Groups; Arch Environ Health Mar;59(3):132-7
3. Hardell et al, Use of cellular telephones and brain tumour risk in urban
and rural areas; Occup Environ Med 2005;62:390–394.
Hardell et al., Pooled analysis of two case-control studies on the use of cellular and cordless telephones and the risk of benign brain tumours diagnosed during ; INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 28: , 2006
5. Hardell et al., Case–control study of the association between the use of cellular and cordless telephones and malignant brain tumors diagnosed during 2000–2003; Environ Res Feb;100(2):232-41
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Lloyd Morgan

26. Interphone Study References
6. Christensen et al., Cellular Telephone Use and Risk of Acoustic Neuroma; Am J Epidemiol 2004;159:277–283
7. Lönn et al., Mobile Phone Use and the Risk of Acoustic Neuroma; Epidemiology Volume 15, Number 6, November 2004: *
8. Schoemaker et al., Mobile phone use and risk of acoustic neuroma: results of the Interphone case–control study in five North European countries; British Journal of Cancer (2005), 1 –7 *
9. Christensen et al., Cellular telephones and risk for brain tumors, A population-based, incident case-control study; NEUROLOGY 2005;64:1189–1195
10. Hepworth et al., Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in adults: case-control study; BMJ Jan 20 *
11. Lönn et al., Long-Term Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumor Risk; Am J Epidemiol 2005;161:526–535 *
12. Schüz et al., Cellular Phones, Cordless Phones, and the Risks of Glioma and Meningioma (Interphone Study Group, Germany); Am J Epidemiol Mar 15;163(6): *
* Study found increased risk of brain tumor
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Lloyd Morgan