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NTP’s Board of Scientific Counselors Meeting on June 20, 2018. Two scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Drs.
Chad Blystone and Michael Wyde, made presentations to the Board.
the cell phone radiation studies conducted by the NTP.
robust discussion by the Peer Review Panels on the exposure system and NTP’s
draft scientific interpretations. The Panel recommended increasing the NTP’s
level of evidence calls regarding the heart in male and female rats, adrenal
gland in male rats (GSM only), and the brain (gliomas) in male rats of both
modulations.
captured in the peer review report, which will be posted with other meeting
materials when completed. NTP will carefully consider the Panel’s
recommendations when finalizing these technical reports, which will be
published on the NTP website in fall 2018 (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/36144).”
finding observed in mice in these studies was increased DNA damage in cells of
the frontal cortex of RFR-exposed male mice (both GSM and CDMA). This finding
was not associated with any change in brain tumors in the 2-year studies;
however, elevated incidences of neoplastic lesions were observed in male (skin
and lung) and female mice (malignant lymphomas). These incidences may have been
related to RFR exposure and were considered equivocal evidence of
carcinogenicity for RFR at 1900 MHz for both GSM or CDMA modulations.
rat studies, exposures were initiated in utero and consistently resulted
in exposure concentration-related decreases in pup body weight and body weight
gains during the perinatal period. In general, decreased pup survival was
observed at the higher levels of RFR tested. Increased DNA damage in cells of
the hippocampus and frontal cortex was observed in RFR-exposed male mice from
the CDMA study. Lower survival in control group was observed and attributed to
high severity of chronic progressive nephropathy. At the end of the 2-year
studies, increased incidences were observed in malignant schwannomas and right
ventricular cardiomyopathy in the heart, malignant gliomas in the brain, and
pheochromocytoma in the adrenal medulla (GSM only) of male rats. A number of
neoplastic lesions were also observed that were considered equivocal findings
that may have been related to RFR exposure in male (brain (granular cell
tumors), pituitary gland, prostate, liver, adrenal gland, and pancreas) and
female rats (heart, brain, and adrenal gland).”
studies will seek to investigate the perinatal effects, and further
characterize organ-specific effects (heart, brain, adrenal medulla) in rats via
immuno- and enzyme-histochemistry and molecular pathology methods. The impact
of RFR exposure on behavior and stress will be further investigated, including
the assessment of activity, response to system-generated noise and RFR signals,
evaluation of stress indicators, measurement of stress hormones, and heart
rate. The primary areas of mechanistic research will include investigation into
the role of heat as a contributing factor to RFR-induced effects, oxidative
stress mechanisms, changes in gene expression in multiple tissues, and the
effect on DNA damage and repair. Given the positive effects on DNA damage in
both rats and mice and the high level of interindividual variability that was
observed in the small number of animals evaluated per sex per dose group (n=5)
in the comet assay, it is important to replicate the comet assays to confirm
DNA damage effects, as well as conduct additional, more-specific and robust
assays to evaluate DNA damage and DNA repair enzymes.
criticisms raised during peer review of the NTP RFR studies in March 2018,
including temperature measurement during periods of animal inactivity,
evaluation of stress markers, evaluation of behavior changes during exposures,
and measurement of food consumption. Additional studies will have the potential
to expand to newer, current technologies and those evolving technologies that
will become the new standard in the telecommunications industry.”
comments were submitted by Dr.
Annie Sasco, P.K.
Mahesh, the Environmental
Working Group, and Phonegate
Alert. The comments supported the study design, the peer review panel’s interpretation of results, the need for NTP to conduct health research on newer wireless technology, and the importance of public health warnings about exposure to cell phone radiation.
At the June 20, 2018 meeting of the Board of Scientific Counselors, NIEHS will make a presentation about the NTP cell phone radiation study followed by public comments and a discussion of the study. The Counselors will also discuss future studies of radio frequency radiation. For more information see the meeting agenda.
March 30, 2018 (Updated April 2)
Finally, my preliminary analysis of the overall tumor risk using summary data from the appendices to the NTP report, found that male rats exposed to cell phone radiation were significantly more likely to develop a tumor than control rats overall (81% vs. 62%; p < .001), and even in the lowest cell phone radiation exposure group, 1.5 watts per kilogram (82% vs. 62%; p <.001).
March 16, 2018 (Updated March 25)
Public Comments on the NTP
Cell Phone Radiation Studies
The Ramazzini Institute in Italy will soon publish a study in the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Research, which found that cell phone radiation caused malignant schwanomma in the hearts of male rats.
In this study of 2,448 male and female rats, the animals were exposed to 1.8 GHz GSM cell phone radiation for 19 hours per day from prenatal life until natural death. The cell phone phone radiation exposure in this study corresponds to what one could receive from a nearby cell phone tower. Hence, the exposures were much lower than in the NTP study. The SAR values in this study ranged from 0.001 W/kg to 0.1 W/kg as compared to 1.5 to 6.0 W/kg in the NTP study.
This is the fourth animal study to report increased cancer risk from exposure to low intensity microwave radiation. In addition to the NTP study (summarized below) and the U.S. Air Force study, Repacholi and colleagues (1997) found that female mice exposed to GSM-like cell phone radiation were twice as likely to develop lymphoma compared to unexposed control mice.
Nine peer-reviewed studies, including one cohort study, have found evidence in humans that long-term cell phone use is associated with increased risk of vestibular schwannomma, aka acoustic neuroma. Acoustic neuroma also arises from the Schwann cells, but unlike its counterpart in the heart, it is usually a slow-growing tumor and not cancerous.
NTP
Cell Phone Radiation Cancer Study: A Public Health Perspective
million National Toxicology Program (NTP) cell phone radiation study proves
that long-term exposure to low intensity, non-thermal levels of cell phone
microwave radiation can cause cancer and DNA damage in an animal model. This is
the second study our federal
government conducted which found that low intensity microwave radiation caused
cancer.
published case-control research in humans that found an association
between long-term, heavy cell phone use and brain tumor risk (glioma and acoustic neuroma also known as vestibular schwannoma),
and hundreds of studies that found increased oxidative stress (including stress proteins, free
radicals and DNA damage) from exposure to low intensity microwave radiation,
the NTP study should empower the WHO International
Agency for Research on Cancer to re-classify radio frequency radiation from its
current classification, “possibly carcinogenic to
humans” (Group 2B), to “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A) or
“carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1).
the NTP reports was increased cancer incidence in Schwann cells of the hearts
in male rats exposed to cell phone radiation. These rats also exhibited twice
as many total schwanommas across all organs of the body compared to control rats, but
this difference was not statistically significant (6% vs. 3%).
Other organs in male rats were observed to have low incidences of tumors that exceeded those found in the unexposed controls, including the brain (i.e., glioma), the adrenal, pituitary, and prostate glands, the pancreas, and the liver.
cell phone radiation also had elevated tumor incidence in the brain (i.e.,
glioma) and adrenal glands.
in mice and rats of both sexes exposed to cell phone radiation. (See my earlier
posts for a summary of these results.)
Why is NTP downplaying the study results now?
increased malignant schwannoma in male rats as “some evidence of carcinogenic activity.” Other elevated incidences of tumors were considered “equivocal evidence of carcinogenic
activity” because they failed to display a classic dose-response relationship. However, much of the published research on microwave radiation finds that the
likelihood of a health effect does not correspond closely with the dose (or intensity) of the
radiation. Rather, the frequency of the carrier wave and pulsing and modulation of the signals appear to affect the organism’s cell signaling processes independent of the intensity of the microwaves.
Although this is the largest and most important animal study to examine tumor risk caused by cell phone radiation, both the NTP and the FDA are now downplaying the study results. Yet, in May, 2016, the NTP was so concerned about the increased risk of schwanomma and glioma in male rats, they released a partial report with these results because these are the same types of tumors found in several case-control studies of cell phone use among humans. What explains this turnaround?
overall tumor risk.
carefully examine the overall tumor risk, that is, the risk of an animal
developing any type of tumor due to cell phone radiation exposure. There are several
strong justifications for conducting this analysis.
of tumors in male rats exposed to microwave radiation. In that study, the
exposed rats were three times more likely to get cancer than the control rats.
The study employed much lower intensity microwave radiation than the NTP
studies.
research on the effects of tobacco found low incidences of many types of tumors
among animals exposed to tobacco smoke. Scientists dismissed this evidence as
they assumed an agent could not cause cancer in different types of tissue. History
later proved them wrong.
tumor risk using summary data from the appendices to the NTP report,
found that male rats exposed to cell phone radiation were significantly more
likely to develop cancer than control rats (38% vs. 25.5%; p = .021), and more
likely to develop a nonmalignant tumor (70% vs. 54%; p = .003).
rats in the lowest cell phone radiation exposure group, 1.5 watts per kilogram,
were also more likely to develop a nonmalignant tumor than control rats (74%
vs. 54%; p < .001). Although cancer incidence for this low exposure group
was greater than the control group, the difference was not statistically
significant (34% vs. 25.5%; p = .163).
of the overall tumor risk analysis during the recent NTP press conference. Will NTP conduct this analysis, adjusting for
survival time and litter differences, in time for the peer review of the NTP
reports in late March?
“Same RF Cancer Data, Different Outlook”
story today that poses the question, “Why was the NTP so ambivalent about its
cell phone cancer findings at the press conference last Friday when two years
ago the same scientific evidence prompted a public health warning?” (“What
Changed at NTP? Same RF Cancer Data, Different Outlook.” Feb 7, 2018. URL: http://microwavenews.com/news-center/what-changed).
House may have intervened in response to lobbying by the cell phone
industry.
health and environmental impacts of electromagnetic fields and radiation for
more than 35 years and is widely recognized as an objective source of
information on this topic.
Feb 2, 2018 (Updated Feb 6)
and Conducts Press Conference
On February 2, 2018, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) conducted a press conference and released two draft technical reports on the cell phone radiation studies — one report on rats (TR-595) and one on mice (TR-596) and two supplemental data tables. The reports and data tables are available at http://bit.ly/NTPreports.
The recording and transcript of the press conference are available at http://bit.ly/NTPpress2-2-18.
For information about the upcoming review process in March see National Toxicology Program: Peer & public review of cell phone radiation study reports.
Dec 1, 2017
Microwave News reported today that the vice-chair of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), Maria Feychting, has been trying to convince the scientific community to dismiss the $25 million cell phone cancer study conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP).
According to Microwave News, Feychting claimed at scientific meetings held in Germany and Sweden last month that the pathology analyses in the NTP study were not properly blinded. This issue was originally raised by an official reviewer of the study and was laid to rest in the NTP interim report released in May, 2016.
Several researchers in the U.S. and Europe expressed their concerns to Microwave News about Feychting’s misguided efforts to undermine the credibility of the NTP cell phone study.
The Microwave News article reports that Feychting’s declaration of personal interests filed with ICNIRP is incomplete as she has not fully disclosed potential conflicts of interest due to her role in the Swedish COSMOS study which has industry funding.
For more information see Microwave News.
Nov 28, 2017
This month the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) updated the cell phone information page on its website and the fact sheet which summarizes the NTP cell phone radiation study. See below for a summary of the study and its findings.
The NTP’s website indicates that the NIEHS has warned its “federal regulatory partners” (i.e., the Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration) that the NTP’s research found that cell phone radiation caused cancer in male rats to enable these agencies to provide the latest guidance to the public about safe ways to use cell phones and other radiofrequency radiation-emitting devices.
Following is some of the language which now appears on the NTP website.
Nov 21, 2017
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2017.07.07
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.
Sep 20, 2017
- in the frontal cortex of male mice from either CDMA or GSM cell phone radiation exposure,
- in peripheral leukocytes of female mice from CDMA exposure, and
- in the hippocampus of male rats from CDMA exposure.
There were no significant increases in micronucleated red blood cells in rats or mice.
The NTP is scheduled to publish a complete report about its cell phone radiation studies in early 2018. The FDA called for this research in 1999.
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| Paper presented at annual meeting of Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society, Raleigh, North Carolina, September 9-13, 2017. |
Aug 31, 2017
Microwave News reported that the National Toxicology Program (NTP) will release the “complete results” of its $25 million project on cell phone cancer risks early next year. The release of these data had been expected by the end of this year.
“The complete results from all the rat and mice studies will be available for peer review and public comment by early 2018,” according to a new statement on the NTP Web site.
To date, the study has reported increased risk of cancer in the brain and heart of male rats from exposure to second generation (2G) cell phone radiation and increased risk of DNA damage in mice and rats of both sexes. For more information about the results of this study see the rest of this post.
This NTP project is our nation’s only major research on the effects of cell phone radiation since the 1990’s. The FDA recommended that the NTP conduct these toxicology and carcinogenicity studies in 1999. The FDA letter calling for this study can be downloaded from the NIEHS website.
The NTP is still studying the effects of 2G cellphone radiation which may soon be obsolete.
What about 3G, 4G, and 5G? Why must we rely on research from other nations to inform us about the health effects of this environmental toxin?
The Federal government should be held accountable for the lack of research in the U.S. on the health effects of wireless radiation since the 1990’s.
Related Posts:
Government Failure to Address Wireless Radiation Risks
April 4, 2017
the National Toxicology Program (NTP) will not publish as a stand-alone paper its findings of increased
DNA breaks among rats exposed to cell phone radiation. These data which have been reported at an international scientific conference will be incorporated in a technical report to be released in
December. The report will provide a “final determination” about the
level of evidence that cell phone radiation causes cancer.
”The genotoxicity paper was not
accepted for stand-alone publication because the reviewers wanted additional
detailed technical information on the methods used to expose the animals to
radiofrequency radiation, as well as further placement of these findings in the
context of the results of the two-year rodent studies. The complete results
from all the rat and mice cancer studies remain in pathology review and the
final determinations on the level of evidence for carcinogenic activity have
not yet been made. For these reasons the decision was made to peer review and
publish the genotoxicity data as part of the larger study in an NTP Technical
Report.”
For a summary of the evidence about DNA damage due to cell phone radiation see the posts below for June 10, 2016 and August 23, 2016.
Presentation on NTP Study to NIEHS Board of Scientific Counselors
On June 15, Dr. Michael Wyde, the director of the cell phone radiation studies conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), provided an overview of the studies to the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). He summarized the research designs and the partial results for the toxicology and carcinogenicity studies.
A video of the presentation including the presentation slides and the question and answer session is available at https://youtu.be/TCRF71eMZ1Q.
According to Dr. Wyde, the FDA recommended that the NTP conduct toxicology and carcinogenicity studies of cell phone radiation in 1999. Completion of these studies is expected by some time in 2018.
The 1999 FDA letter calling for this study can be downloaded from the NIEHS website.
June 24, 2016
NTP Toxicology & Carcinogenicity Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation Studies
Summary of Presentation at BioEM 2016 Meeting (Ghent, Belgium) by Michael Wyde, PhD, Director of NTP Studies of Cell Phone Radiation, NIEHS, June 8, 2016
Dr. Wyde explained the four reasons why the National Toxicology Program (NTP) decided to release partial study results at this time: 1) given widespread cellphone use, even a small increase in disease incidence could have major public health implications; 2) there is a high level of public and media interest in the study; 3) the tumor types observed in these studies are similar to those found in human studies of cellphone use; and 4) the results support the IARC classification of radiofrequency radiation as potentially cancer-causing in humans.
Dr. Wyde discussed the 5-day pilot studies conducted on young and aged mice and rats and on pregnant rats to determine the maximum intensity of cellphone radiation that could be employed in the subsequent studies without inducing any heating effect. He also described the 28-day pre-chronic toxicology studies and the 2-year toxicology and carcinogenicity studies.
For the pre-chronic studies, NTP selected SAR exposures of 0, 3, 6, and 9 watts/kilogram (W/kg) in rats and 0, 5, 10, and 15 W/kg in mice based on pilot study results. Pregnant rats were exposed prenatally and 28 days postnatal to 900 MHz cellphone radiation (GSM or CDMA). Five-week old mice were exposed to 1900 MHz cellphone radiation for 28 days.
Dr. Wyde reported statistically significant evidence of DNA damage from nonthermal exposure to cellphone radiation in mice as well as in rats:
- male rats: frontal cortex, hippocampus, liver, blood
- male mice: frontal cortex
- female rats: frontal cortex
- female mice: liver, blood
The partial results of the carcinogenicity studies were also discussed. See my summary below.
The slides for this presentation are available at:
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/research/areas/cellphone/slides_bioem_wyde.pdf
June 13, 2016
Do Cellphones Cause Cancer? Probably, but it’s Complicated
Dr. Chris Portier, Scientific American Blog, Jun 13, 2016
Setting the Record Straight on NTP Cell Phone Cancer Study
Dr. Ron Melnick Corrects ‘Misinformation,’ Rebuffed by the New York Times
Microwave News, Jun 10, 2016
American Cancer Society (ACS) responds to new study linking cell phone radiation to cancer
Otis W. Brawley, M.D., ACS Chief Medical Officer, ACS Pressroom, May 27, 2016
May 30, 2016
National Toxicology Program report on
of Health reported partial findings from their $25 million study of the cancer
risk from cellphone radiofrequency radiation (RFR). Controlled studies of rats
showed that RFR caused two types of tumors, glioma and schwannoma. The results “…could have broad implications for public health.”
about data quality and implications, as well as “Facts” from decades of
previous research is available at http://bit.ly/NTPspinfacts.
A German translation of this fact sheet is available at diagnose:funk. An Italian translation is available at Amica Associazione.
May 27, 2016 (updated June 1)
On May 26, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the National
Institutes of Health issued the first
in a series of reports that contains partial findings from their long-awaited, $25 million study of the cancer risk from cell phone radiation. This report summarizes the study of long-term exposure to cell phone radiation on rats. The report on mice will be issued at a
later date.
According to the report:
“Given the widespread global usage of mobile communications among users of all ages, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to RFR [radiofrequency radiation] could have broad implications for public health.”
Overall, thirty of 540 (5.5%), or one in 18 male rats exposed to cell phone radiation developed cancer. In addition,16 pre-cancerous hyperplasias were diagnosed. Thus, 46 of 540, or one in 12 male rats exposed to cell phone radiation developed cancer or pre-cancerous cells as compared to none of the 90 unexposed male rats.
The two types of cancer examined in the exposed rats were glioma and
schwannoma. Both types have been found in human studies of cell phone use.
In the group exposed to the lowest intensity of cell phone radiation (1.5 watts/kilogram or W/kg), 12 of 180, or one in 15 male rats developed cancer or pre-cancerous cells. In the highest exposure group (6 W/kg), 24 of 180, or one in 8 male rats developed cancer or pre-cancerous cells.
This latter finding has policy implications for the FCC’s current cell phone regulations which allow cell phones to emit up to 1.6 W/kg at the head or near the body (partial body Specific Absorption Rate or SAR).
The NTP study is likely a “game-changer” as it proves that non-ionizing, radiofrequency radiation can cause cancer without heating tissue.
The results of the study reinforce the need for more stringent regulation of radiofrequency radiation and better disclosure of the health risks associated with wireless technologies — two demands made by the International EMF Scientist Appeal — a petition signed by 220 scientists who have published research on the effects of electromagnetic radiation.
Along with other recently published studies on the biologic and health effects of cell phone radiation, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization should now have sufficient data to reclassify radiofrequency radiation from “possibly carcingogenic” to “probably carcinogenic in humans.”
phone radiation whereas no cancer was found in the sham controls—rats kept in
the same apparatus but without any exposure to cell phone radiation.
of cancer in female rats among those exposed to cell phone radiation was not statistically
significant. Overall, sixteen of 540 (3.0%), or one in 33 female rats exposed to cell phone radiation developed cancer or a pre-cancerous lesion as compared to none of the 90 unexposed females. The NTP provided no explanation for the sex difference. The researchers pointed out that none of the human epidemiology studies has analysed the data by sex.
Why did cellphone radiation significantly increase cancer risk in male but not female rats? Perhaps, because glioma and heart schwannoma are less common in females. According to Microwave News (6/1/2016), the NTP report shows that among controls from past toxicology studies, males were ten times more likely to develop glioma than female rats (11 of 550 vs. 1 of 540). Also, males were twice as likely to develop heart schwannoma than female rats (9 of 669 vs. 4 of 699).
study were caused by the exposure to cell phone radiation as none of the control
animals developed cancer. The researchers controlled the temperature of the
animals to prevent heating effects so the cancers were caused by a non-thermal mechanism.
signals was 900 MHz. The rats were exposed to cell phone radiation every 10
minutes followed by a 10-minute break for 18 hours, resulting in nine hours a day of
exposure over a two-year period. Both forms of cell phone radiation were found
to increase cancer risk in the male rats.
For each type of cell phone radiation, the study employed four groups of 90 rats — a sham control group that was not exposed to radiation, and three exposed groups. The lowest exposure group had a SAR of 1.5 W/kg which is within the FCC’s legal limit for partial body SAR exposure (e.g., at the head) from cell phones. The other exposure groups had SARs of 3 and 6 W/kg.
affects about 25,000 people per year in the U.S. and is the most common cause
of cancer death in adults 15-39 years of age. Several major studies have found increased risk of glioma in humans associated with long-term, heavy cell phone use.
Schwann cells that cover a nerve which connects to the brain. Numerous studies
have found an increased risk of this rare tumor in heavy cell phone users. In
the rat study, malignant schwannoma was found in Schwann cells in the heart.
The FDA requested in May, 1999 that the NIEHS research the effects of cell phone radiation on DNA in animal models. FDA called this a “high priority.” Seventeen years later the NIEHS has released only partial results from a series of studies which should have taken only a few years to conduct.
